


Ashes To Dust: RWBY Reloaded

by donutkirby



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Canon, Canon Rewrite, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Gen, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2020-06-02 10:23:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 54,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19439515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donutkirby/pseuds/donutkirby
Summary: For untold millennia, mankind has waged a never-ending war for survival against the evil Creatures of Grimm. When Ruby, an aspiring Huntress, fulfills her dream of attending the illustrious Beacon Academy, she and her friends must give it their all to become the heroes they were meant to be, but they may find that their greatest threats are far deadlier than mere beasts. (Rewrite of the main series)





	1. R

**R _ _ _**

_What is your favourite fairy tale?_

_There are infinite stories, passed down from generation to generation, as inherent as the air we breathe and the water we drink. Tales that bring us together, to unite us in rapture at figures whom we might one day emulate, to show us a fictional hope that we will one day make real. Indeed, these tales, these legends of bravery, triumph, and despair, have become the very foundation of our world._

_And every story… needs a hero._

_Some heroes are the strongest in the world - paragons that all others aspire to become. Heroes who take up their swords only because they must, and find themselves more capable than a thousand barbarians who throw themselves laughing into battle. Heroes who appear as the foulest of villains in the eyes of those who oppose them._

_Truly, there are many kinds of heroes. Yet more often that not, the truest signs of heroism come from within. The world may be complex, yet the greatest of heroes...are those possessed of a simple soul._

* * *

The wind was howling, screaming aimlessly into the night as snow descended onto the fields below, blanketing all in white. Across the vast landscape, there were no signs of life outside of a single black bird, flying boldly through the chilling storm, safety above the treacherous dangers below. The hordes of dark Grimm, their black masses contrasting against the pure white expanses as they wandered towards some rare shared purpose.

A single shade of red stood solemnly in the snow, their cape billowing violently in the wind. A young girl, alone in the blizzard, surrounded by a legion of darkness, forces of pure hatred that sought to tear and destroy all life that existed in the world. To anyone, she would seem to be nothing but easy prey for a starving predator. If the Grimm could think, they would think the same as they crept towards their target.

But they would be wrong about one thing. The girl was not prey - no, she was the predator.

Silently, she drew her weapon, a massive scythe as blood-red as her cape, smiling as she eyed her approaching foes. Her enemy, who felt no fear and did not flinch at death, charged without pause, growling and gnashing their teeth as they bore their claws at her. The girl sidestepped the first, slicing its body in two like a hot knife through butter. The second lost its head in a swift stroke of the weapon, and the third was cut into pieces before it could even move.

Now it was the girl who was on the offensive, cutting down her foes without a shred of mercy or hesitation. The Grimm, embodiments of destruction itself, fell like flies before her indomitable might as she ripped, tore, and slashed through them all. Showers of bullets rained from the barrel of her scythe, blasting them into pulverized bits as she danced gracefully through the snow. When the last monster remained, it seemed to pause, almost as though it were a living creature that understood it should flee, that it was up against something it could never beat. But of course, it was too late, as the girl cleanly removed its beastly head from its shoulders.

Victorious, the girl planted her scythe in the ground, sighing in relief as she removed her hood. It was incredibly cold, but to her it was no big deal. The enemy did not fear the cold, so she would have to do the same if she wanted to survive against them. That was the way of the warrior, the way of the Huntsman. And the way of the Huntsman was what she knew best.

"That was easier than I thought," she said, admiring the icy cloud that formed from her breath. Smiling, she turned to look behind her. "How did I do, Uncle Qrow?"

"...Heh, not bad for a pipsqueak." The dark-haired man, appearing from seemingly nowhere, emerged from the snow with his own cape fluttering behind him. In his hand he held a large greatsword, worn from years upon years of use. "You've come far, Ruby…"

Qrow didn't finish his sentence, as Ruby disappeared in a flurry of rose petals in front of him. Unperturbed, the warrior drew his weapon and swiftly turned around, easily deflecting the girl's own blade as he threw her to the side with his superior weight.

With a battle cry, Ruby charged at him, and he simply grinned, shaking his head at her predictability. He sidestepped her, but his eyes widened in surprise as she simply disappeared once more. Taken aback for just one second, he saw Ruby's scythe heading directly towards his face, and he knew he was too late to stop it.

The weapon struck true, but though Qrow felt a sharp rush of pain, he was not hurt. After all, he was an experienced Huntsman, and was protected by a force far stronger than his own flesh. Shrugging off the impact, he simply swung his greatsword with a mighty force, hitting Ruby right in the chest. The girl was sent flying with a loud cry, landing in the snow some distance away.

"... But you've still got a ways to go," Qrow finally finished, walking over to where his student lay. "I'll give you points for the surprise attack, though. You actually got a hit on me this time - not bad."

"Ow ow ow… it hurts," Ruby groaned melodramatically, while happily making a snow angel as she grinned at Qrow. "I'll get you next time, Uncle Qrow. And remember, when I win you're buying me all the cookies in the store. You promised!"

"Ha! In your dreams, kiddo!" Qrow pulled her up, gently brushing some snow off her cape. "Well, that was a good training session. We should get back soon or your dad's gonna get worried...but I bet you'd still like to see her first, huh?"

Ruby's smile suddenly faded, and she gave him a somber nod. "I thought so," he said softly. "Let's make this quick then - she's not too far up ahead, if I remember right."

The vast snowy landscape came to an end at the edge of a large cliff, upon which a stone monument rested. Standing before it, with Qrow by her side, Ruby knelt down and brushed off the snow that had come to rest upon its surface. Underneath, the sigil of a rose was engraved above a set of words, words that meant much to her.

_Summer Rose_

_Thus Kindly I Scatter_

"Hi mom," Ruby said quietly, awkwardly placing her hood back over her head; suddenly, the cold felt sharper, more painful than it was before. "Just thought I'd stop by and tell you that...well, my training's going well, and Qrow says it I keep it up I'll be sure to get into Beacon." She let out a nervous laugh. "Though Dad doesn't seem to happy about it...I'll do anything to become a great Huntress, just like you."

"Sadly, she hasn't gotten any taller," Qrow said with a grin. "If this keeps up, she might get rejected cause they'll think she's too young to get into the academy."

Ruby pouted. "Heeeyyy, you jerk." She turned back to her mother's gravestone. "See you soon, mom. I promise I'll bring Yang next time, okay?"

Qrow sighed. "Ready to head back, then?" He walked over to the grave, and from his pocket he retrieved a single rose, laying it down gently onto the monument. As luck would have it, at that moment a large gust of wind came and blew the flower away, off the edge of the cliff and into the sky. The Huntsman simply watched it go, his expression unchanged.

"Yep," Ruby said with a nod. As the pair headed away, Ruby turned to her uncle with a curious expression. "Uncle Qrow...you knew my mom, right? You studied together, the three of you - you, Mom and Dad. Dad tells me you all fought on the same team when you were at Beacon. Can you tell me more about your time there? And...more about her?"

"Well, I hope you like long stories, kiddo," Qrow replied, not turning to meet her gaze. He took a small whiskey flask from his belt, and took a generous swig of it as they continued to walk. "Tell you what. Instead of a mountain of cookies, let's make a better deal. When you manage to win, the day I decide you're better than me as a Huntsman, I'll tell you everything I know about your mom. Deal?"

"Deal!" Ruby agreed chirpily. And as the two made their way home, their conversations were of nothing but weapons, bullets, and the many battles that were to come.

* * *

"So, do tell me, Miss Rose, why did you do it?"

Shifting uncomfortably in her chair, Ruby glanced up nervously at the man who had asked her the question. The room was dimly lit, and the lack of any weapons or cookies in sight made her extremely anxious.

"I-I didn't start it," she said defensively. And it was true, of course. She had simply been minding her own business, listening to her favourite song while reading her favourite magazine in the corner of her favourite store. It was a special issue, too - all about the latest advancements in Atlesian prosthetics - a promise of revolutionary artificial limbs that also functioned as weapons: swords, staves, and of course, guns. She had been in the middle of fantasizing about having a robotic arm cannon when she'd felt a rude tug on her shoulder.

"Hey!" The man behind her had growled. "Turn around and put your hands up, missy!"

She'd turned around and glanced at him, confused. The man wore garish red sunglasses and had a seemingly perpetual leer on his ugly face. Several similarly dressed men had filled the store, and were hoarding large amounts of Dust and other valuable products without paying for them. That was also very rude.

Finally, it had dawned on her. "Is this a robbery?" She asked curiously.

"Obviously!" The man snapped. "What, are you dumb or something?"

"Oh… okay," Ruby had said, and drew her weapon. The rest had been history; the robbers clearly hadn't expected such strong opposition, and certainly not from a fifteen-year old girl. She'd knocked them all clean out, with the exception of one - clearly the leader of the group, he had held his own against her with nothing more than his cane, grinning as he fought what he'd known was a powerful opponent.

"Did you know who you were up against?" In the present, the man in the shadows asked Ruby another question. "Roman Torchwick, the most dangerous criminal in all of Vale. Many Huntsmen have tried and failed to bring him down in the past, and a few have even lost their lives. Were you aware of that?"

"No, I wasn't," Ruby said, shaking her head. "I didn't know who he was, I just, well, I did…"

She had done exactly what her instincts had told her to do. She'd pursued Roman Torchwick even as he fled, his stash of stolen Dust in hand. Even while carrying a heavy load, the man was unexpectedly fast, easily climbing up a tall building with one free hand. Not willing to let him escape, Ruby had leapt up with all her might, disappearing into petals as she soared to the roof.

"Hmmph, you're persistent, little Red," Roman said mockingly, aiming his gun at her. "And what exactly do you think you're doing out here, all alone? Looking at you, I doubt you're even a Huntress in training. Shouldn't you be with your parents right now?"

Ruby readied her weapon. "My name is Ruby Rose! And I don't need to be a Huntress to know people like you have to be stopped. Now hand over the Dust and surrender!" She'd felt quite proud of herself for saying that.

"Oh boy, have I heard this speech a thousand times," Roman sighed. "Listen here, Red. You're still young, and you're all innocent and brave and you believe in heroes. I get it, we've all been there. But that's not gonna do you any good - it's all just lies and tricks in the end. There's no such things as heroes in this world! I know it, and you'll know it soon enough, whether ya like it or not."

"That's not true!" Ruby retorted. "Huntsmen and Huntresses are true heroes, and they're everywhere! They stop men like you every day! And I'm gonna be just like them when I grow up!"

The crime lord just shook his head sadly.. .and was that pity she'd seen in his gaze? "You still have time, you know - to reconsider. Whatever path you think you wanna follow, it's just gonna lead to a dead end. Literally, if you're unlucky enough. The only way to survive? You gotta play things smart, like me." Grinning, Roman raised his arms in a dramatic gesture. "Case in point."

Suddenly, Ruby heard a loud whirring noise, and felt a gust of wind stir her cape. Blinking in surprise, she saw something rise behind Roman - a large aircraft. "Ah!" she gasped, realizing just a bit too late. "You were… stalling?"

"Oh dear! You _are_ young!" Laughing, Roman leapt onto the aircraft. "The oldest trick in the book, and you fell for it hook, line and sinker. A silly mistake," He smirked as the craft's machine gun turret turned towards Ruby. "But a silly mistake can easily be your last. So long, little Red!"

Panicking, Ruby tried to dash away, but knew that it was too late, and her fear had left her frozen in the one moment where she couldn't afford to be standing still. Squeezing her eyes shut, she braced her impact… but none came.

"Huh?" Blinking in surprise, she saw a new figure had appeared in front of her: a woman, wearing a sleek white vest and black cape, brandishing a fancy-looking riding crop that was radiating a bright purple energy. Forming at the weapon's tip was a vibrant hard-light shield, shielding them from the gunfire. The moment the turret paused its fire to reload, the woman swung her crop, and the shield morphed into bolts of purple lightning that struck the airship head-on.

"Uh oh," Roman muttered, a look of genuine fear on his face as he staggered into the ship's cabin, slamming the door shut behind him. "See you around, Red! Think long and hard about what I told you!" The airship flew off into the distance, and before long was out of their sight.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew… that was a close one." Turning, she got a closer look at her mysterious saviour. The woman was very beautiful, with flowing platinum blonde hair, lime-green eyes, and a stern expression that did little to diminish her looks. As Ruby stared at her, she realized that the woman looked somewhat familiar - she'd never met her in person before, but she'd definitely seen her on something, like in a picture or on TV. And then, it hit her.

"Oh my gods!" she exclaimed, practically leaping into the sky as her heart began pounding fiercely. "Y-you're… you're Glynda Goodwitch! You're, like, one of the most powerful Huntresses in all of Vale! C-can I... _can I please have your autograph_?!"

She did not get Glynda Goodwitch's autograph. What she did get, instead, was a stern escort to the nearby police station, where she now found herself face to face with the peculiar old man sitting there with a mug of piping hot coffee, who seemed to know exactly who she was. The fact that she'd been rescued by a world-class Huntress was still a thrilling thought, but she wasn't as happy about it as she'd been a few minutes ago.

"You still haven't answered my initial question," the strange man said, taking a generous sip of his coffee. He wore a sleek black suit over an emerald-green vest, and there was an aura of mystery about him that Ruby found fascinating. "Whether you knew who it was or not, you went up against a band of dangerous criminals. And unscrupulous lot, who would have killed you without hesitation if you'd been less skilled. Most people would have run, yet you chose to fight. Why?"

"Why?" Ruby blinked in confusion. Still, she decided to give it her best shot, even if she honestly didn't really know the answer. "Well, those robbers, and that Roman Torchwick person...they're the bad guys. They hurt innocent people, just like the Grimm. I… can't stand people who do that. I want to stop them, and to protect those who can't protect themselves."

She smiled, a strange, warm feeling rising in her heart. "My mom, dad, and uncle… they were all Huntsmen, superheroes that protected people at all cost. I… never really knew my mom, but everyone says I'm just like how she was at my age, so I wanna follow in her footsteps. I want to be a Huntress. And," Ruby met the old man's gaze. "I want to study at Beacon one day, just like she did."

The man smiled, and pushed up his glass spectacles. "You know who I am." It wasn't a question.

"You're…... Professor Ozpin," Ruby said in awe. "You're Beacon's headmaster, right? Your school's the best Huntsman academy on the entire planet! I...I... I'm not worthy to be in your presence, sir!" Abruptly, she stood up and tried to bow to Ozpin, smacking her head on the table in the process.

Ozpin chuckled. "Now, now, calm yourself, Miss Rose. I'm hardly worth bowing down to, I can assure you of that. The truth is, I simply came to see you because I had something to request of you. If you don't mind, of course."

"A request? Of me?" Ruby blinked, surprised.

"Yes. You wouldn't know, of course, but I've heard many wonderful things about you. Things from your uncle, that dusty old crow...and others, too. I've heard of your gifts, and your willingness to fight for what is right. And tonight you reaffirmed those beliefs and proved yourself to be true. So," Ozpin leaned forward. "Miss Rose, how would you like to attend Beacon Academy, right now?"

Ruby didn't comprehend at first, but the realization slowly dawned on her until it struck her like an Atlesian battle tank. "Now?!" she gasped. "Like, right now now?"

"Well, not now. In a few weeks, to be more accurate," Ozpin chuckled. "I'm aware that this is on very short notice, and you'll need to prepare and reschedule and get ready for the new school term. Not to mention, you'd be two years younger than the other students, so the workload may be a bit tough for you. If you'd need some time to think it over-"

"I'll do it," Ruby said. "I'll do anything to become a Huntress."

Ozpin's eyes widened in surprise. There was happiness in his gaze, but Ruby also thought she saw something else. Was it...sorrow? "Then it's settled," he said quietly. "I just have one more question to ask you, Miss Rose, before we part ways. Has anyone ever told you that you have silver eyes?"

"What?" Out of all the questions he could have possibly asked her, Ruby certainly hadn't expecting anything like that. "Umm...yes, my eyes are silver. I mean, I don't think anyone's ever really commented on it before."

"But you've never met anyone with eyes like yours, have you? Silver is hardly a common colour for one's eyes, don't you think?"

"I guess not." She'd never really thought about it, but Ozpin was right. "Is… is that important, professor? W-wait, is this some sort of test?"

Professor Ozpin let out a soft laugh. "Oh no, this isn't a test. Just think of it as the ramblings of an old man." He picked up his coffee and stood up, nodding amicably at the girl in front of him. "Have a good night, Miss Rose...I look forward to seeing you again."

Shortly afterward, Ruby found herself outside the station. For a full minute, she simply stood there, dead to the crowds of people around her, staring blankly into the distance. Then without warning, she leapt up and threw her hands up in the sky.

**_"YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_** She cheered as loudly as her lungs could muster, earning her quite a few surprised and irate stares from passerby, but she didn't care at all. Nothing else seemed to matter, not anymore.

She couldn't wait to tell Yang, Qrow and her dad. Yang would be ecstatic, of course, just a week ago she'd been saddened by the thought of parting ways with her little sister, and now the two of them would be together at the Academy. Uncle Qrow would probably howl with laughter at the absurdity of the situation, and tell her she had the devil's luck. Her father would lose his head worrying about her going away, but he'd come around soon enough. Hopefully.

Ruby could scarcely believe it. In a way, she was still processing what had happened. The road ahead would be full of trials and tribulations, that was for sure, but for now it seemed like all of her dreams were finally coming true.

She was going to Beacon.


	2. W

**R W _ _**

_To become a hero requires tremendous growth - this is known._

_Many heroes come from nothing. In some ways, this is what makes them so endearing to people: the idea that anyone, even the poorest of peasants and the weakest of cripples, can become a beacon of light to the world. We delight in seeing these outcasts of society rise out of the filth they were born in, gaining power, riches, and perhaps even love along the way. Tales such as these are older than time itself._

_But what of the person who already has everything? If heroes are those who rise from nothing, then can someone who was born with all they need, who wants for nothing and needs nothing, become a hero?_

_Perhaps. After all, growth is far more than simply material gain - no, a true hero is defined by their spiritual growth. And often, an increase in the spiritual requires detachment from the material. An easy sacrifice for someone who has little, but for someone who lives in luxury…?_

_Regardless, the truth is clear: Sometimes, in order to gain what's important...we must first lose all that we already have._

* * *

The saying goes that no one is as lonely as they are when in a crowd. That the feeling of being surrounded by a horde of strangers, without any sense of belonging, is the worst feeling of all.

Weiss Schnee was painfully aware of this as she walked down the sleek white hallway, feeling the _click-clack_ of her heels against the hard marble floor with every step she took. In front of her, an army of black-clad paparazzi aggressively flashed their cameras at her. On either side, her classmates crowded around her, some begging for her autograph while others asked for money, flashing their winning, artificial smiles. Behind her, security guards blocked the auditorium entrance, holding back the crowds that were desperately attempting to break through.

"Your performance was incredible, Weiss!" she heard someone say. "Your voice is like an angel's...mixed with a siren's!"

"Hey! Hey, you remember me, right?" yelled some stranger. "We're in the same history class! W-We can sit together at lunch tomorrow, if that's okay with you!"

"Weeeisssss! Please sign my forehead! Or if you want to spit in my face, that's cool too! I mean, that way I'll still have a piece of you on me..."

_How annoying,_ Weiss thought, glancing around the walls of her academy. When the halls weren't crowded to the brim with people, they were a visual splendor of artistry - exquisite landscapes crafted by the most illustrious painters in all of Atlas, ancient tapestries dating back to the pre-Dust era, and ivory columns that had cost a city's worth of money to build. It was the very image of class, of luxury.

And Weiss had come to loathe every single speck of it. So in a way, she was grateful to her harassers for filling the hall to such an extent that she didn't have to see a thing. But right now, what she really wanted was to as far away from there as possible. 'There', however, was not her school, but the entire kingdom. _Her_ kingdom, in all but name. She wanted nothing more than to leave it.

Unfortunately, that was impossible for her. At the moment, anyway.

More paparazzi were waiting for her outside, but her security guards quickly ushered her into the limousine that was waiting for her. Weiss recognized it immediately, as it was the most lavish, expensive-looking thing in the vicinity, and it also had the Schnee Dust Company logo printed on the side. Getting in the car, she wrinkled her nose at the sharp scent of leather, and turned her head away from the sounds of crazed fans pounding at the bulletproof windows.

"Shall we head home, my lady?" The driver asked politely, his voice stern and without emotion.

"No," Weiss said firmly. "I have another stop to make first. Please escort me to the colosseum as quickly as you can. I'd rather not have anyone see me, but I suppose that won't be possible."

"As you wish." Without another word, the limousine took off, leaving the paparazzi and everyone else in the dust as they sped through the streets of Atlas. Weiss did genuinely appreciate the sheer speed of the vehicle - the engine was the very best the industry had to offer, especially since her own family had helped design it. If there was one thing that any Atlesian could depend on, it was for the Schnee Dust Company to always have the finest advancements in technology.

When they arrived at the colosseum, Weiss quickly thanked the driver and got out, trying her best to not attract attention as she climbed the stairs to the grand building. Going inside, however, she knew she needn't have bothered. The entire place had been cleared out in advance, and there were SDC-made signs declaring that the arena was closed to the public today. That, too, had already been taken care of for her.

The guard standing in front of the main arena recognized her, and stood aside as she approached. "You're right on time as usual, Miss Schnee," she said. "Please, head inside."

"Thank you," Weiss said tersely, and stepped into the darkened room. The door behind her closed shut, and then everything was pitch-black. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath - finally, she was all by herself, and everything was quiet. Silence was hard to come by in her life, and so she had come to treasure the little moments like this.

_So, you've decided to pursue this path after all?_ Suddenly, a deep, authoritative voice boomed out from somewhere, presumably from the loudspeakers above her. _This is your last chance, young lady. Reconsider this foolish course._

"I've already made my choice, Father," Weiss replied, her voice firm and resolute. In her hand she now gripped her trusty weapon - Myrtenaster, the Dust-powered gun-rapier hybrid she'd built with her own two hands. "You're not going to convince me otherwise, so please just start the test."

_Hmph. As you wish,_ Jacques Schnee replied, as dim lights began to fill the arena. _If you really have any strength, display it for me now._

In front of her, Weiss now saw the opponent she was meant to face. She had expected her father to prepare one of Atlas's strongest Huntsmen to test her, or perhaps one of the SDC's very own machines. What she had not expected was the giant suit of white armor that knelt before her, identical to the ones that decorated the front of her family's manor. Suddenly, the armor came to life, rising to its feet and hoisting its massive blade. Its eyes glowed with a molten light as it stared down at her.

"An Arma-Gigas Grimm?" Weiss gasped, angrily glancing around the room as if her father were somewhere around the corner. "Father, what's the meaning of this?!"

_The city's Huntsmen were all on duty today,_ Jacques said coldy. _And I had no intention of wasting our company's valuable resources on your silly little act of rebellion. You wish to leave Atlas? Prove that you can survive against the threats waiting for you outside._

Weiss did not respond. Instead, she simply gritted her teeth as she braced herself for her enemy's attack. The Arma-Gigas charged at her, but its massive size and slow speed betrayed it. Dodging easily, she began to dance around her foe, swiftly striking its legs in the hopes of finding a weak spot. To her dismay, her attacks only seemed to bounce off harmlessly, not even making a dent.

She felt herself begin to panic. _Stop this,_ she commanded herself. _You're the greatest of them all. You can handle this, no problem._ She thought back to her Grimm Studies classes, and what she'd learned about Gigas-type Grimm - "Geists", creatures that possessed inanimate objects and made them into their bodies. The Geist's true body, however, was woefully frail, and even when transformed its face remained and was vulnerable.

_Its face…_ Weiss looked up at the knight's visage, and the molten light that seemed to shine from its eyes. _Of course! That must be it!_

The Arma-Gigas went in for another strike, and Weiss leapt onto its sword as it swung down at her. Concentrating, she summoned a glyph beneath her feet, keeping herself steady as the knight raised the blade upward. Angling Myrtenaster, Weiss aimed towards her foe's eye, firing a ray of fire Dust into the socket. Immediately, the Arma-Gigas recoiled in pain, the light flickering for a moment as it thrashed about wildly.

Unfortunately, this also caused Weiss to lose her balance, and she fell gracelessly on her back as her sword clattered on the floor some distance away. Struggling to her feet, she tried to reach for it, but the Arma-Gigas was faster this time. With a swing of its sword, it knocked Myrtenaster to the other end of the arena, before turning its attention back to its owner.

_No!_ Reaching out, Weiss summoned another glyph, slowing down the knight's arm as it brought the sword close to her head. Jumping up, she leapt onto several smaller glyphs and over the Arma-Gigas. Landing, she desperately ran to retrieve her rapier. She breathed a sigh of relief as she grasped Myrtenaster, feeling better just by holding it in her hand.

Her good mood instantly faded when she turned around, and saw the knight directly in front of her. Before Weiss could react, it brought its sword down on her, and she felt the sharp sting of pain spread across her body as she was struck down onto the cold, hard floor. At the same time, she felt a nauseous, cold sensation envelop her. Suddenly, she felt exposed and helpless, like someone wandering naked through the snow. She instantly knew that her Aura - the life force shielding her from harm - had been depleted.

The knight raised its sword to strike again, and Weiss tried to dodge - but her body, weak and vulnerable, failed her. The blade grazed her eye, and she heard herself scream in agony as the warm sensation of blood spilled out onto her face. Her composure completely gone, she continued to wail as the pain overcame her, desperately crawling away from the foe that still pursued her without mercy.

_S-Sir, perhaps we should cancel the test,_ came a meek voice over the loudspeaker - no doubt one of her father's secretaries. _She's clearly lost already. If we don't stop this now, she'll be seriously hurt!_

_She made her choice._ Jacques' reply was quick, terse and cold as ice. _Now let her face the consequences of it._

That was it. That was all he had to say, seeing her hurt and wounded on the floor. This was the man in charge of one of the largest and most influential companies on the planet. One of the most powerful men in all of Atlas. The man who had complete and total control over so many lives. And if Weiss were to keep sitting idly by, he would remain in power for years to come. As these thoughts rose in her head, so did a cold, righteous fury.

_I won't allow that,_ she thought, slowly getting to her feet. _I_ can't _allow that. Never._

She stared down her foe, all her fear and doubt gone. Without her Aura, she could no longer use her glyphs, but she knew she didn't need them. That ability was something she'd been born with, but her real strengths came from what she'd built and developed herself.

The Arma-Gigas brought its sword down, but Weiss raised Myrtenaster in defense, summoning a wall of ice Dust that encased the knight's blade. Unable to free its weapon, her foe came after her with its fists instead. Dodging its first punch, Weiss infused her blade with lightning Dust and struck the knight's arm, sending waves of electricity through its metal body. It staggered backwards in pain, and for a moment she saw the true Geist's head emerge from the armor.

The knight desperately tried to retrieve its sword. Swiftly, Weiss changed the blade's chamber to gravity Dust, and with a single flick she sent the Arma-Gigas' blade flying up into the air, out of its reach. Loading a full cartridge of fire Dust, she took aim at the knight's helmet and pulled the trigger. The force from the blast blew the Arma-Gigas' head off, revealing its true face underneath. Making a hellish sound that could have possibly been a scream of terror, it raised its metal fists to shield itself.

_You wretched, cowardly beast._ With a triumphant flourish, Weiss raised Myrtenaster. Above the Geist's head, the giant blade shuddered as the gravity Dust holding it up suddenly disengaged, sending it plummeting back down to earth like a guillotine. Before the creature knew what was happening, the blade cut its body cleanly in half, metal and all.

A heavy silence followed. Its molten eye widening as if in surprise, the Geist faded away into nonexistence, taking its host body along with it. The blade still remained, as traces of Weiss' blood continued to trickle off of it, onto the floor.

Weiss found that she was breathing heavily, and that her hands were shaking. Pulling herself together, she raised her chin defiantly, and shouted: "There! You wanted to see my strength, Father? _This_ is my strength! Well? Are you satisfied?"

_It seems like...you've proven your worth,_ Jacques admitted. _Very well. You want to attend that second-rate peasants' school in Vale instead of following in your sister's footsteps? Do as you please, but don't say I didn't warn you._

There was a loud crackle of static, and then the loudspeakers were dead. Weiss knew that her father was already gone, probably on his way out. Another meeting, a conference, perhaps a fancy dinner party with some of Atlas' highest elite. Either way, he likely wouldn't return home for the night. Not when he had more important things to do.

But who really cared about him? All that mattered to Weiss was that she'd won. She'd proven herself, just like she'd said she would, and now she was free to leave the glorified cage that was Atlas. At Beacon Academy, she would no longer be under her family's iron fist, no longer need to conform to an unfair and corrupt system. This was...all she'd ever wanted…

She felt something warm run down her face. _Tears?_ Looking down, she saw them dripping down onto the floor, some of them mixing with her blood as they fell. It stung a little, and as she raised her hand to her freshly-formed scar, she was able to truly appreciate how lucky she'd been. If she'd been hit just a little bit higher she may very well have lost her entire eye. But of course, Weiss was used to having good luck. Like with everything, she'd been born into it.

She knew she shouldn't be so weak, so unprofessional. As the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, she'd been taught not to show weakness, and to never let emotion betray her. But she supposed that right here, right now, it was alright. After all, no one was around to see her cry.

* * *

The morning of her big day had finally come, and as usual she woke up early.

Groaning, Weiss yawned as she shielded her eyes from the glare of light beaming down through her bedroom window. Like clockwork, she brushed her teeth, changed into her uniform, braided up her hair into her favourite ponytail, and packed everything she would need for the trip. She had no need to double-check her suitcase, because she knew she would never forget anything.

The scent of hot tea and sweet crepes awaited her outside, bringing a smile to her face. "Good morning, Klein," she said, greeting her butler as she took her breakfast.

"Good morning, my lady," Klein said in response. He gave his master a curt bow, smiling as he watched her eagerly dig in. "I hope the food is to your liking, Miss Schnee. I made it extra sweet for this special occasion."

Weiss swallowed. "It's delicious as always," she replied happily, gingerly brushing some crumbs away from her lips. "Thanks, Klein - I'm going to miss your cooking while I'm away."

"I'm happy to hear you say that," her butler chuckled. "Now then, I suppose we should be be on our way. I'm sure many people are waiting to see you off at the airport."

_I'm...sure of that, too,_ Weiss thought, hurriedly finishing off the last of her tea. With Klein carrying her suitcase, the two made their way through the eerily-empty Schnee Manor. Weiss cast a quick glance at the dining hall as they passed by - the room was as beautiful as she remembered it, but she hadn't eaten there in over a year. As she passed through the front yard, she averted her gaze from the rows of armored suits; every since that day, she'd felt her scar throb in pain return every time she looked at them.

As always, her limo was waiting for her. A young boy stood in front of the vehicle, wearing a neat blue suit, his short, neat hair the same pure white as hers. He smiled at Weiss as she approached.

"It's good to see you, Sister," he greeted her. "It's sad, you know. I think I'm going to be rather lonely without you around."

"...Hi, Whitley," Weiss sighed. Turning to Klein, she gave her butler a generous hug before taking her suitcase. "Goodbye, Klein. I guess I'll see you again in...well, about four years if this all goes according to plan."

"Oh, Miss Schnee, it warms my heart to see how much you've grown." Klein wiped away tears from his light-brown eyes. "I still remember you being that adorable little girl I would read bedtime stories to…" He smiled at her. "Well, I suppose you could always return during term breaks."

Weiss forced herself to smile back. _I'm sorry, Klein. I don't think that's going to be happening._ Bidding him farewell, she walked down the steps and entered the limo alongside her little brother.

"Will...Mother be joining us?" Weiss asked, her heart heavy as if already knowing the answer. "Or...Winter?"

Whitley chuckled, glancing at his sister as if she'd just said something extraordinarily foolish. "No, sadly. I asked her earlier this morning, but it seems she doesn't want anyone to bother her today. As for Winter, it seems she had to leave Atlas late last night - a sudden mission from the general himself."

A small smile formed on his face as he saw Weiss' crestfallen expression. "Oh, but for what it's worth, she did leave a message behind, saying how sorry she was that she wouldn't be able to see her little sister off."

The two siblings spent the rest of the drive in an awkward silence, neither of them speaking or even looking at the other in the eye. In her discomfort, Weiss fidgeted with Myrtenaster as she inspected its Dust chambers.

After what felt like hours, they arrived at the airport. As Weiss feared, a horde of reporters and fans were crowded around the plane, as the SDC guards struggled to keep them away. They were shouting and waving around signs maniacally, as though she were a celebrity - and in many ways she _was_ a celebrity. As the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, and two-time Apollo Award-winning singer, Weiss Schnee was royalty in all but name.

"Go out there and greet your admirers, Sister," Whitley said with a trace of mockery in his voice. "As for me, I must be heading downtown. Father has invited me to have brunch with him and his business partners. I hear the restaurant has some of the finest fish souffle in all of Atlas."

"Well, I hope you enjoy yourself," Weiss replied icily, and slammed the door shut. Ignoring the screams of her fans, she made her way towards the aircraft. Far from the fancy, sleek private jets she was accustomed to, this was a fairly standard affair - massive, bulky, clearly meant to carry large amounts of the common, less fortunate people. Today, the ship was carrying hundreds of hopeful teenagers to their new home - Beacon Academy, where they would train their bodies and minds to become mankind's sworn protectors, and hunters of the Creatures of Grimm.

Weiss was far from the only student who was boarding the aircraft, but she may as well have been. Not a single soul paid any attention to the other boys and girls who were walking alongside her, and why should they? None of the others were the scion of Atlas' most powerful family, who had inexplicably chosen to attend school on an entire different continent and leave all her wealth and comfort behind.

She found herself standing in place, rigidly clutching her luggage, as the plane took off. She felt a faint bout of nausea as motion sickness began to kick in. Normally she would have ordered a small ginger ale from her personal server to help with the discomfort, but it didn't seem like this aircraft had that particular luxury. She'd just have to bear it...like the common folk, she supposed.

As Weiss glanced around the plane, a strange sensation began to rise in her stomach. All around her, students were happily going around and socializing with one another: some of them were probably friends from many years back, while others had only just met but were already chattering away like they'd known each other their whole lives. They made it look so easy, and she felt strangely envious of them.

Weiss stood there in the middle of it all, surrounded by hundreds of the world's best and brightest, carrying all the world's burdens and hopes on their shoulders.

And she had never felt more alone in her life.


	3. B

**R W B _**

_It is quite easy to think of heroes as purely good, moral paragons of justice. After all, what are heroes, if not manifestations of the inherent good in all of us?_

_Yet not all heroes are born good, nor are they all made to be good, either. It is an easy thought, and a comforting one, to view good and evil as two opposite sides of the coin. Two absolutes, that will never meet face-to-face; irreconcilable. But of course, the boundaries between good and evil are always far narrower than we expect._

_In reality, many 'heroes' are hardly pure of heart, and even the villains they oppose often have some semblance of virtue within them. Good and evil are hardly concepts set in stone, for even the most steadfast of individuals can have their values changed by the merciless winds of time._

_In time, those with evil in their hearts can return to the side of light. But on the other side of the coin, even the greatest of heroes can eventually fall into the darkness…_

* * *

The day had finally come.

Today, they would take back what was theirs.

Blake Belladonna wandered through the bright red fields, feeling the cool gusts of wind brush against her skin. She shuddered slightly; she had always hated the cold, and years of living in cold, dark places had done nothing to make her dislike it less. Of course, this sort of slight discomfort was hardly something worth focusing on - not when she had a mission to complete.

She made sure to do one final check of her equipment. Her trusty chain katana, Gambol Shroud, remained on her belt like always. She'd made sure to sharpen it the previous night, knowing it would be tested to its fullest potential in the coming battle. In her pouch she held all the ammunition she could carry; if all went well she wouldn't need to use it all, but it was far better to be careful.

Suddenly, she heard a young man's voice from somewhere up ahead. "Where is Blake? We're about to get started - she should be here by now."

"I'm sure she's not far behind," another voice replied - a girl's. "She's not just going to ditch us."

The voices were some distance away, and most people wouldn't have been able to hear them. But Blake was not most people. In fact, depending on who you asked, she wasn't even a 'person' at all. Atop her head rested two large feline ears, as black as her hair, marking her nature as one of the Faunus - beings that were not quite human, but not quite animal either. They were different from the humans that they lived among… and their differences were often viewed as unwelcome - a fact that Blake was painfully aware of.

At the top a small hill, she found the owners of the two voices. One was a tall, red-haired man with two sharp horns adorning his head, a crimson katana sheathed at his hip. He wore a white mask of bone over his eyes, decorated with red marks inspired by the faces of Grimm. The other was a girl around Blake's own age, her dark brown hair tied up in a curled ponytail.

She turned around at Blake's arrival, and smiled at her. "Blake! There you are! For a moment there, I was afraid you'd gotten cold feet. Or that you'd just slept in today."

Blake sighed. "You know I wouldn't do that, Ilia. I've been on missions like this before - I'm not a coward. And you also know I never oversleep."

Ilia's face fell, and for a moment a wave of blue pigment washed over her skin - a chameleon's skin. "Come on, I was only joking."

"Adam, how is it looking down there?" Blake asked the bull-horned man, who was busy scanning the horizon for their target, impatiently flicking his sword in and out of its sheath as he did so. "The train should be here soon."

"Yeah," Adam said gruffly, turning to his two subordinates with a stern, no-nonsense frown. "Any moment now. Make sure you're as prepared as you can be. Remember, we'll get one shot at this job, and one shot only." He walked over to Blake and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Blake...are you sure you're ready for this?"

"I am." Blake nodded, her voice taking a much gentler tone as she grasped his hand in her own. "You're the one out there making the real differences, and I've gotten a lot stronger, too. Besides, it's about time you and I finally went on a mission together." She smiled at him.

"...Heh. Then I guess we'll see just how much stronger you are," Adam chuckled, before turning away.

Ilia approached Blake as they continued to wait. "Y'know, you're being a little hard on yourself, Blake," she said. "Gotten stronger? You've always been strong! All the guys have been talking about how great you are for years! Not anyone could have done what you did - you know that."

"That…" Blake looked downward, her smile fading. "That doesn't really matter."

"It _does_ matter!" Ilia insisted. "Sure, he'd already stepped down by that point, but it was you who put our old leader in his place. You called him out for the spineless coward that he was when no one else could. And it would've been even harder for you, considering he's your-"

"I said it doesn't matter!" Blake snapped suddenly, and Ilia recoiled slightly. "I-I'm sorry," her friend muttered. "That was kinda uncalled for. We should probably focus on the mission instead."

That was alright with Blake. Feeling a pang of guilt for yelling at Ilia like that, she eagerly changed the subject. "You know, your camouflage is usually pretty useful for heists, but it doesn't look like stealth's going to see much use this time," she said teasingly. "Are you sure you're right for the job?"

Ilia smiled back at her, her face turning a shade of pink. "Hah! Says the ninja," she giggled.

"Both of you, shut up," Adam said suddenly, his voice steely. "It's showtime."

Blake's ears perked up, and sure enough, the faint but unmistakable sound of a locomotive engine as it headed towards their location. She wasn't at all surprised that Adam had managed to sense its approach before her even with her enhanced hearing; he was their leader for good reason, after all.

"Finally. Let's go," Ilia said, her voice going dead serious as well. As the train came into view, she put on her own mask, similar to the one Adam wore. "Oh yeah, and don't forget about yours, Blake!"

"Right," Blake muttered, awkwardly reaching for her mask as she tried to fit it over her face. She had always hated these things, and they certainly didn't do her eyesight any favours, but it would be worse if their enemies saw what they looked like.

Sliding down the side of the hill, the trio leapt onto the cargo train as it passed by, landing steadily on their feet. They gathered around a nearby emergency hatch, where Adam prepared to draw his sword.

"Remember, we're here for _this_ specific shipment," he said, holding out a device that projected a small hologram: a logo in the shape of a rose, with a bright exclamation point imposed over it. "We don't know exactly where it is, but it's gonna have this symbol on it. We find the package, grab it, we get out. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Blake and Ilia replied simultaneously.

Adam nodded, and without another word cut open the hatch. The three of them leapt in, and immediately found themselves surrounded by a large group of security droids, each labelled with the logo of the Schnee Dust Company. The symbol of their enemy.

The droids immediately activated at their presence. _Intruder alerted,_ one of them rasped. _Identify yourself, or we will open fire._

"Here's your identification," Adam growled, promptly firing his sword from its sheath, where it impaled itself in the droid's head. Blake and Ilia took their cue: Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud, while Ilia drew her whip-sword, and the two of them began cutting down the robots alongside Adam. Yelling, Blake planted her blade in the chest one of the last remaining droid, destroying its core with a point-black shot. The machine fell to the floor, twitching and useless.

"They're outdated models," Ilia noted as she retracted her whip. "Looks like the SDC didn't want to spare the extra cash...or they're more hard up than we think."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of sirens wailing throughout the carriage, as bright red lights filled their vision. "Outdated or not, it doesn't matter if they manage to overwhelm us," Adam muttered. "Let's make sure they don't get the chance."

The three of them raced into the next train car, encountering more droids that they managed to easily dispatch. Coming across a locked door, Adam simply drew his katana and, calling upon a massive wave of dark energy, blasted it clean open. They rushed into the room… and immediately stopped in their tracks.

"Oh…" Blake gasped.

Inside the room were rows upon rows of cages - rusted, filthy ones like what one might see at the local zoo. Inside them were Faunus of all kinds: those with a ram's horns, a raccoon's tail, a pig's nose, even a couple with a fish's fins. There were bright blue tags slapped onto the cages, designating each one of them by a certain number, along with their assigned duty - many of them being miners, builders, or ominously, test subjects.

"Those bastards," Ilia hissed, staring in disgust at the cages. Many of the Faunus had glanced up in surprise at their sudden arrival, and some began excitedly talking among themselves. They knew, after all, what kind of people wore those masks. Among the whispers, Blake thought she heard the word 'freedom'.

"How are we going to get them out?" Blake asked Adam, who was already walking towards the next door, laying his hands on its metal frame. "We can't just leave them here."

Adam didn't seem to hear her. "The storage room should be just behind this door. Stay behind if you want. I'm gonna go get what we came here for." Without waiting for a reply, he cut down the door and charged in.

_Well...at least he's focused on the mission,_ Blake thought, feeling a bit disappointed nonetheless. Going back to Ilia, the two of them began freeing all of the captive Faunus. She smiled as one of them tearfully thanked her while being helped out of the cage, though she felt dismayed at seeing just how bad of a state they were in; his complexion was pallid, and his ribs were showing through his skin.

"Please, stay here for now," Blake advised the Faunus once they'd all been freed. She and Ilia headed into the storage room, where they found Adam waiting for them. His uniform and blade were soaked in crimson, and at his feet lay a dozen security guards, their white uniforms stained with the red of their own blood.

"...Adam?" Blake asked, her voice hoarse. "Wh-what did you do?"

"They came at me," her partner replied calmly. "I had no choice." He looked around at the room, where several containers of Dust had spilled out onto the floor during the bloodbath. "Looks like it's not here after all. Well, it _is_ a pretty important package, after all...could be all the way up in the front compartment."

"Then what should we do?" Ilia asked anxiously. "We can't fight our way there; it's gonna be guarded way more heavily than the back sections."

Adam was silent for a moment. "...Maybe we don't have to," he muttered, wiping some blood off his sword as he pondered. "We can head in the opposite direction, towards the engine room. We rig it to blow, get out, then wait for the train to derail itself. Once that's over, we'll just head right back in through the front and take the shipment. If what I know about it's correct, it should survive the crash."

"Hey, that could work!" Ilia's eyes lit up at Adam's suggestion. "Sure beats mowing down hordes of the same robots."

Blake frowned - she wasn't feeling quite as enthusiastic about the plan. "But...what about everyone else on the train?" she asked. "There's probably more guards, and the crew, and the driver, too."

Adam stared at her, and for a moment he didn't say a word. As always, Blake couldn't read his expression under the mask, but it seemed to her that he was confused; as though he genuinely hadn't understood what she'd said. Finally, he spoke.

"... What about them?" he asked.

"H-Huh?" Blake blinked in surprise. "But, when the train crashes they'll be-"

"Come on, Blake, you saw what they did to those Faunus," Ilia said. "That's what humans always to our kind. What's wrong with them getting a bit of just desserts? Whatever happens to them, the blood's on their own hands."

Blake opened her mouth, but couldn't find any appropriate response. Suddenly, a loud crash from above sent debris falling down into the train car, disorienting them all for a few seconds. When the dust cleared, a massive spider-like droid stood before the trio, whirring menacingly as it armed its mounted cannon.

_FIRING...M-M-MAIN CANNON…_ it stuttered.

"Looks like they're bringing out the big guns!" Adam shouted, readying his weapon. "We'll head to the engine room once we take out this ugly son of a bitch. Both of you, with me!"

Ilia drew her whip, leaping straight into the fray with him, but Blake stayed were she stood, lost in thought. Silently, she turned her head to the side of the room, where a window leading to the train's outside had been shattered by the droid's arrival.

"Blake! Look out!" Hearing Ilia's warning, she turned to see the spider droid's energy beam flying straight towards her. The blast struck her directly in the face… except it wasn't really her taking the hit. The shadow copy faded away as it absorbed the impact for the real Blake, who took her chance as she grappled onto the window's edge, zipping out of the train before either of her teammates could react.

It took her a moment to adjust to the outside, as the winds threatened to blow her off the train itself. Steadying herself, Blake, used Gambol Shroud as a makeshift pick, moving along the side as she struggled to make it to the front carriage. An explosion from the ongoing battle inside sent glass and debris in her face, almost causing her to lose balance.

"Ah-" Blake yelled, hanging precariously from her grappling hook as she forced herself not to look down. Somehow, she managed to pull herself up, using the momentum to launch herself much closer to her destination. Finding herself a suitable perch just below the windows, she watched as more droids and more security guards, wearing the all-too-familiar SDC logo, ran towards the fighting.

Finally, she found herself just outside the frontmost compartment of the train, daring a glance inside. It appeared to a storage room similar to the one from before, but the containers were fewer and larger. Snuggled between two packets of hard-light Dust, Blake saw the box with the mysterious rose-shaped label. _Jackpot._

There were still some guards - she counted a total of five - inside, clearly readying themselves for a fight. These humans were her enemy; Blake knew. They had willingly enslaved the Faunus on the train, and had likely done so to countless others - many of whom had probably met horrible fates in the depths of the Schnee Family's mines, or just from the infamously cruel working conditions of their facilities. She had every reason to despise them… but did that really mean they deserved to die?

Taking a deep breath, Blake swung back on Gambol Shroud, before flying in through the window with a resounding _crash_. The guards all recoiled in surprise at the intruder, and she took the opportunity to grapple away two of the men's guns before they could even aim at her. A third managed to get off a shot, but Blake summoned another copy to absorb the hit as she leapt back, knocking out a guard behind her with the butt of her weapon.

She quickly disarmed the one next to him, trapping him in a chokehold and holding Gambol Shroud's barrel to his head. "Stay away!" she snarled at the rest, who were now all warily stepping away from her. The guard who still had his gun was pointing it in her direction, his hands shaking.

Her ears perked up, catching the sound of a trigger being pulled back. She immediately ducked with her hostage as a bullet flew above her head, before aiming and firing several shots in retaliation. She heard the now disarmed guard cry out in pain as he fell to the floor, clutching his knee. Feeling the man beneath her struggling to get to his feet, Blake gave him a swift chop to the back of his head.

Before the remaining two could retrieve their weapons, she ran at them with her fists bared. Adam had trained her intensively in hand-to-hand combat, and she was more than a match for a couple of novice guards who were accustomed to shooting at things from a distance. She quickly knocked out one of them with an uppercut to the chin, before taking a frenzied punch to the face from his comrade. Yelling, she staggered backwards as she tried to blink away the pain.

"You damn rotten animal!" the guard wailed, continuing to swing at her. His movements were wild and uncoordinated, however, and he no longer had the element of surprise. Blake easily caught his arms and twisted them around, before grabbing him by the sides and slamming him down his back in a suplex. She heard the distinct sounds of bones cracking as his body met the floor.

_It's fine,_ she thought coolly. _He won't die from a few broken bones._

Stretching out her arms, Blake went over to retrieve the all-important package. Picking up the large box, she was surprised by its sheer weight - whatever this thing was, it clearly wasn't Dust. Of course, as long as the SDC seemed to consider it an important asset, it was probably something worth stealing from them.

For a moment, she considered opening the box to see what was inside. But she remembered Adam and Ilia fighting the spider droid, and knew that she couldn't afford to waste a moment. If her friends weren't in trouble, then they would be heading to the engine room. Either way, she had to get to them now.

Escaping through the hatch on the room, Blake quickly made her way back down the train, finding the spot where the droid had come crashing down through the roof. Loading a round of earth Dust into her weapon, she leapt down in front of the robot just as it prepared to launch another beam at Adam and Ilia. As the droid fired, she summoned a copy - this one not a mere shadow but comprised of solid Dust - to tank the hit, causing the laser to backfire into the machine's head. Spluttering, it staggered backwards as sparks flew from its now-wrecked cannon. "Adam! Now!" she yelled.

Her partner immediately obliged, unleashing all of his stored energy from his blade, obliterating the droid in a single blow. As the dust settled, not even a single scrap of their enemy remained - just ashes and sparkling embers. The three of them breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"I got the package," Blake announced, holding it up for Adam and Ilia to see. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Ha! That's our Blake!" Ilia laughed, giving her friend a hearty pat on the back. "Always coming through when it counts."

"... Fine," Adam muttered, nodding after a brief pause. "Let's go."

By some miracle, they managed to get both themselves and the freed captives off the train without running into more guards. Eventually, they found their way to the hill where they'd started, and took the moment to regain their bearings.

"What's gonna happen to them?" Ilia asked, a tinge of sadness in her voice as she glanced at the other Faunus, most of whom already looked exhausted. "They probably don't have anywhere to go."

"We'll take them back to camp," Adam replied tersely. "Give them a hot meal and a tent to sleep in. Tomorrow, they'll have to decide their futures. They can join up with us in the White Fang, and if they don't… then that's on them." There was a steeliness in his voice as he spoke, and it made Blake shiver.

The rest of the walk home was in silence, which Blake was grateful for. She should have been happy; she had accomplished their mission, and she had also saved many lives in the process. This time, she had stopped blood from being unnecessarily spilled. That wasn't something that happened often.

Yet Adam's words continued to ring in her head. _What about them?_ He'd said. His voice had been dismissive and callous, as if he hadn't spared even a single thought for the people on board the train, even as their slain bodies lay at his feet.

Once upon a time, the two of them had forged a promise together - to fight for peace, and for each other, too. Of course, peace was hard to come by when fighting a bloody war of revolution against the SDC, but accidents happened. Sometimes, it was either their lives or their aggressors'. That was what they'd told themselves; or at least Blake had thought so.

But after today, she wasn't so sure. And that doubt continued to linger in her head all the way back to their camp.

* * *

Blake leaned in towards the mirror, frowning as she gingerly scratched her head. Her two feline ears now lay covered underneath a thick black bow, and the fabric felt rather uncomfortable on her skin . A reasonable disguise, but she wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to it.

Still, at least it was a good fit. She turned around and took a long, final glance at her room. It was a cold, dingy place - hardly luxurious, but she'd lived here long enough for her to call it home. With her stacks of books now cleared off the shelves and packed away in her luggage, she'd suddenly become aware of just how small it was. She felt the hard, rough mattress of her bed and smiled - this, at least, she knew she would not miss.

Having finished packing, Blake exited her tent and made her way out into the clearing, where everyone was waiting for her. Some of her comrades waved and called out to her as she passed, and though she cordially returned their gestures, her attention was fixated on the two who awaited her at the camp's entrance.

"Morning, Blake," Ilia said with a sad smile on her face. "You sure you don't want me to come with you to Beacon? Blending into human territory is kinda my thing, after all."

Blake smiled back. "Sorry, but we both know it'll work better with one person. If you want, I can send you pictures of all the pretty Faunus girls."

"Ahahaha...you don't need to do that," her friend sighed, her gaze moving downward.

"I'll admit, I'm still you surprised you volunteered for the job," Adam muttered. "But if the High Leader's given the OK, there's not much I can do about it." He turned to Blake, and even with his mask covering his eyes, she could the sternness in his expression. "Be careful out there, got it?"

"Of course," Blake nodded. "I won't let you - or the White Fang - down."

"Lay low and don't take any action - just report back every now and then, and await further instructions. And above all, hide your identity. You know damn well what those humans are gonna do to you if they find out who you are. Even the other Faunus won't be much use - they're soft, and indoctrinated. Remember what I taught you, Blake: don't trust anyone."

Blake nodded again, and with that the conversation was over. Bidding the two of them farewell, she headed out into the forest, towards the nearest airport. There, an airship would take her to the great Beacon Academy, where she and countless others would learn to fight the Creatures of Grimm… and any other menace that might pose a threat to her kind.

She knew she wasn't there to make friends, and she had no intention of doing so. Yet even with her mission weighing heavily on her mind, Blake found that she was excited to be going to Beacon. In a way, she supposed, this was what she'd been waiting for her whole life. This could finally be her chance, a chance to make a _real_ difference, in whatever form that would take.

For generations, her people had been oppressed, enslaved and slaughtered by arrogant humans, who feared their innate talents and loathed their very existence. They'd taken many things from the Faunus - land, freedom, rights - precious things that could never be replaced.

And now, she was going to take it all back.


	4. Y

**R W B Y**

_We like to believe that people reap what they sow. That good actions, borne of good intentions, will inevitably lead to positive consequences. And consequently, that would mean only the truly virtuous, those who act purely because they fully believe in doing what is right, can bring about peace and happiness._

_But the world is not so simple - nor so fair. A man with the best of intentions can bring about the ruin of a civilization. A self-centered person who cares for no one can become a celebrated hero simply because of circumstance. We may like to think heroes are chosen by destiny, yet it is often a matter of simply being in the right place at the right time, regardless of one's character._

_To some, this could be taken as a maxim of hope; that anyone can become a hero when their opportunity presents itself. But it should also serve as a warning to those same people: that we never know when the tides of fate will sweep away the ground beneath our feet, leaving us to flounder in the boundless chaos…_

* * *

It was her night out, and she intended on enjoying it to the fullest.

Of course, fun wasn't the only thing on Yang Xiao Long's mind as she strolled into the shady nightclub on the edge of town, but if there was pleasure to be had from it, who was she to stop herself? No one else was going to tell her no, that was for sure.

Entering the club, flooded with the dancing beams of neon coloured lights, Yang immediately felt the gaze of several pairs of eyes, as if her very presence was magnetic to onlookers. It was understandable, of course: with her flowing golden locks, tall and voluptuous figure, and her piercing, violet gaze, it was practically impossible to not be mesmerized by her.

Yang didn't always appreciate the attention that came with her gifts, but tonight she did. Putting on her fiercest smile, she tossed her hair back and blew a kiss in the direction of her admirers, some of whom began pointing her out to their friends nearby. That was good; she wanted as many eyes on her as possible.

She glanced over the endless sea of faces, deciding on who would be the most worth her time. A couple of lean, nerdy-looking boys, probably not legally allowed to be there (of course, she had no moral authority in that regard), a pretty but plainly dressed girl dancing to the music, and a broad-shouldered jock with a rather brutish expression. No luck there; disappointed, Yang turned her gaze elsewhere.

A peculiarly dressed man was standing near the bar, catching her attention. He was wearing an expensive an expensive black suit, a matching top hat, and a pair of garish red sunglasses that were a size too big. His gaze met Yang's for a moment, and she saw an unpleasant, leering grin appear on his face. _Well, not exactly my first choice,_ she thought distastefully, _but he'll do._

Putting on her biggest smile, Yang sauntered over to the man. "Well hello!" she greeted him cheerfully. As she did so, she ordered a drink from the bartender - a Strawberry Sunrise, her favourite. "What's a good-looking guy like you standing around alone in a place like this? You should live it up a little!"

"Heheh, well, ya gotta make some sacrifices for the job, I guess," he muttered, clearly intoxicated as he cast a flattering glance at her figure. "And what 'bout you, missy? Hard to believe you ain't got anyone wanting to give you a good time. Care for a little drink with me, maybe?"

"Aw, well thanks for your concern," Yang giggled, leaning in closer and flashing a flirtatious wink at him. "You know, it's a little too crowded down here for my own taste. Too many eyes on us...plus, it looks the same as any run-down club around here in this city. You wouldn't happen to know anyplace more...fancy, that you could recommend, would you?"

The sunglasses man seemed to hesitate for a moment, opening and closing his mouth as if he were contemplating saying something. Deciding to tip him in the right direction, Yang simply smiled and tossed her hair back as she turned away from him. "Well, I hope you have a good night, mister," she said softly.

She had barely walked three steps away from him when he ran up to her and grabbed her hand. "W-Wait! Wait just a sec, lady!" he stammered. "You want a fancy place! I'll show you fancy - the fanciest there is in Vale! Here, check me out!" A lopsided grin on his face, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold-plated card with the letters 'VIP' engraved on it. "See, I'm _top_ class here! Appointed by the big boss himself! Wherever you wanna go, I can take you there, no problem!"

_Jackpot._ Yang grinned, knowing she had him dancing in the palm of her hand. "Well, I think I'd like to meet this 'big boss' of yours," she said happily. "He must be a man of good taste if he hired someone like you."

And that was hook, line and sinker. Without further questions, the sunglasses man (whom Yang had decided to nickname 'Scruffy') led her to the elevator on the other side of the club. The doors were being blocked by two tall, imposing men wearing the same hat, glasses, and suit as Scruffy, but they let the pair through after seeing his identification.

Yang found herself standing there in the elevator, alone with an shady, drunk man who continuously stared at her with the sort of look that she was all too familiar with. A dangerous situation for many a young maiden, to be sure, but she wasn't particularly worried. She listened to the upbeat, jazz-cum-technobeat soundtrack playing as the elevator rose - she liked it; she could see herself dancing to it during her free time.

They reached the club's top floor, and as they exited Scruffy drunkenly pointed toward a large door at the end of the hallway. "The boss should be in there right now," he muttered.

"Thanks," Yang said cheerfully, and knocked him out with a single punch. Whistling to herself, she opened a nearby broom closet and casually stuffed his body inside before locking it shut. _Now that was unpleasant,_ she thought, wiping herself off in disgust. It was a necessary evil, she supposed, but it was hardly pleasant. Just once, she'd like to attract someone who was nice, approachable, and not creepy. One day, hopefully.

The first thing she did when she reached the door was to try and open it. Of course, that was no good; it was firmly locked. She supposed Scruffy's fancy VIP card could have solved the problem, but there was a far easier solution, and it was what she'd been planning to do anyway. Yang pulled back her fist, and with her beloved shotgun gauntlet, Ember Celica, blasted the door open in a single punch.

"Intruder!" "Stay down! Stay down!" Immediately, she found herself surrounded a group of the black-clad mobsters, all armed with pistols and batons. Unperturbed, a grinning Yang strolled forward to where a tall, bearded man - no doubt the leader of these hoodlums - sat in a makeshift throne with two young ladies by his side; one clad in red, the other in white.

"You've got some nerve strolling in here, blondie," the man snarled, slowly getting up from his chair. "I'm gonna assume you had no idea whose club it is you decided to crash tonight, cause you're in for a whole world of hurt. In the name of the Xiong clan, I, Junior, am gonna make you regret the day you-"

Yang decided not to let him finish, electing to simply punch Junior in the groin as she walked up to him. "Don't give yourself too much credit, silly - I'm not here for you," she told him as he keeled over onto the floor, whimpering like a little boy. She nodded to his two proteges: "I'm here for you, ladies."

"Us?" the white-clad girl asked, without a hint of emotion in her voice.

"You two are part of the Malachite Family, aren't you?" Yang demanded. "That means there's no one in Vale who's better at finding people who don't want to be found. Hope you don't mind my entrance - but this was the only way I could be sure I'd get an audience with you."

"Hey Melanie, I think this girl needs a lesson in humility," the other girl said to her sister, her voice equally emotionless.

"Good suggestion Miltia," Melanie replied. "We should knock her down a peg."

"Whoa, whoa, let's all calm down for a second here!" Yang said, raising her arms as she gestured around the room with her gauntlets. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm heavily armed and ready to let loose. You sure you pretty things want me to mess up this fancy little joint you've got here? Cuz if not, I think it's best you hear me out."

Miltia and Melanie looked at each other with uncertainty, but after a second they both nodded their heads in unison. "Fine," they muttered, motioning for their henchmen to stand down.

"There we go, see? We're all friends here." Yang took out her Scroll device and showed it to the twins. On the screen, the image of a stern-faced woman with jet-black hair and deep red eyes was displayed, wearing a shallow-cut black dress and a set of necklaces. "Here's who I'm looking for - one Raven Branwen, who no one alive has seen for about seventeen years. But I bet you've got an idea of where she is, right?"

There was a silence. Confused, Yang waved the Scroll in the twins' faces, both of whom had gone utterly pale. _What's wrong with them?_ "Uh, hello? Are you guys paying attention?"

"What business do you have with her?" Melanie asked, her voice radiating emotion for the first time - namely, terror. "And how do you even know her name?"

Yang frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" Suddenly, she shook her head. "No, forget it - just tell me where she is! You wouldn't be having that reaction if you didn't know something, right? Now spit it out!"

The girls turned to each other, and after a few moments Yang saw both their faces tighten in resolve, and they nodded before turning back to her.

"...The edges of Mistral," Miltia said reluctantly. "Her movements are difficult to track, even for us, so I'm afraid you'll have to judge our intel for yourself."

"Raven's last known location would be in the untamed forests near Lake Matsu," Melanie continued. "With the area a popular breeding ground for Lancer-type Grimm, very few ever approach it. You could find her there…"

" _...but you won't,"_ said both of them in unison, as they drew their weapons - Miltia a pair of metal claws, Melanie two thin blades on the edges of her heels. Behind Yang, the henchmen raised their guns again, preparing to open fire.

"Heh. Bad idea," Yang chuckled, closing her eyes as her hair began to glow the brightest shade of gold. When she opened them again, they had changed from their natural lilac to a deep red. Melanie and Miltia recoiled at the sight of it.

"We should have known. You're…!" Miltia hissed, beckoning to the mobsters. "What are you waiting for? Shoot her!"

Suddenly, a massive, ear-shattering explosion erupted from Yang's body, shattering glass and sending the men flying into the walls. Many of them were knocked out cold, while the few that remained were kneeling in agony, holding their hands over their hands or contending with their now-broken ribs. Yang remained where she stood, fiery energy radiating from her hair as she bumped her fists together.

Thankfully, the twins had mostly withstood the blast, but were clearly unhappy about their now-dirtied dresses and hairdos. "Alright, that's the last straw," Melanie snarled, grinding her heel into the floor. "You're not leaving this place alive, girlie!"

"Come on!" Yang shouted as the two of them charged at her, Miltia running with her claws outstretched and Melanie leaping upwards. She parried Miltia's first strike with her left gauntlet, and blocked Melanie's heel blade with her right. The three remained in a deadlock for several seconds, before Yang managed to overpower Miltia and knock her, with a swift punch, back into the wall.

Melanie, regaining her balance, leapt off of Ember Celica, twirling around with several more kicks in the air as if dancing. One of her hits managed to knock Yang off guard, and she followed up with a roundhouse kick that struck her in the jaw. Yang reeled back in pain, but simply retaliated with a stronger punch, sending Melanie flying over to where her sister lay.

Suddenly, she heard a yell from somewhere behind her. One of the henchmen ran up to her, shouting wildly as he smashed her over the head with his baton. It simply snapped in half as it bounced harmlessly off of her, and as he stared at his now-wrecked weapon, Yang knocked him out with a single punch. The other henchmen were recovering now, and preparing to open fire. Cocking her shotguns, she blasted each of them into the walls, one by one, before any of them could get the chance.

While she'd been contending with them, the twins had regained their footing. They came at her again, this time attempting to overtake her from both side, with Melanie on the left and Miltia on the right. Snarling, Yang met them blow for blow, but she only had one arm each to contend with either of them, and found herself being slowly pushed back.

"Hrahh!" Yelling, Yang punched Miltia with all her might, sending her crashing through the floor. The foundations gave way, and they all fell down onto the dance floor below. Several people screamed at the sight of the three young women who had suddenly appeared along with fragments of what had been the ceiling.

Without missing a beat, Yang continued her fight against the twins, grinning as she timed her attacks to the music. Right now, it felt less like a fight for her life and just another fun night at the club. The people watching the battle seemed to think so too; instead of screaming in fear and confusion, they were now cheering her on and taking pictures like an enraptured audience.

Melanie leapt at her; Yang grabbed her by the heels and swung her around like a ragdoll, smashing her petite head into the glowing floor. Miltia tried to slash her with her claws, but Yang simply charged forward, overpowering her attacks with her superior brute strength. She fired shotgun shell after shotgun shell at her opponent, who tried to deflect them, but the force from the blasts began to tear the weapons apart, and before long they were nothing but useless metal stubs. With Miltia helpless, Yang shouted excitedly as she punched her in the chest, sending her body flying into the crowd.

The spectators all burst into applause; most of them probably had no idea what they'd just witnessed, but all that really mattered to them was that they'd seen something really, really cool. Yang grinned and pumped her fists up in the air, bringing about more cheers from her newfound admirers. _This is the life!_

Suddenly, she saw something fly down through the ceiling, landing directly on her and causing a massive explosion as the grenade detonated. The sounds of glass shattering filled the room as people began screaming, running away in all different directions. Disoriented, and groaning in pain, Yang slowly got up, her hair and eyes brought back to normal.

Murder in his eyes, Junior leapt down from above, a bulky grenade launcher in his hands. "You didn't forget me, did you, blondie?" He yelled. "Go ahead and try to tank _this_!" He fired another projectile at her.

Time itself seemed to stop. Yang's instincts told her to roll out of the way and dodge the grenade, but her body wouldn't allow her to do that. Behind her were crowds of innocent people, people who did not have the sacred protection that warriors like her did. If she ran now, they would all be hurt. Which meant the only way out was the only way she had ever known: to go forward.

Readying Ember Celica, Yang ran at the projectile and punched it with all her might, deflecting it back at Junior. The explosion launched him upwards, sending him crashing through the walls of his own club and into the busy streets outside. After a moment's pause, the crowd began to cheer again, clapping for her as though she'd won a tournament.

Yang decided that she'd done enough fighting for tonight. She walked over to the bar, smiling at the bartender. "Hey. My Strawberry Sunrise is done now, right?"

"Sure is," he replied with a grin, passing her the drink. "Take it on the house, ma'am."

Of course, that wasn't the only thing she'd gotten for free that night. She'd found the information she'd been searching for, and while it came with a lot more destruction than she'd anticipated, at least she wouldn't have to pay for it - money was a bit hard to come by these days.

Enjoying her well-earned cocktail, Yang stepped out of the club, only to be alerted by the buzzing of her Scroll. She pulled it out and was greeted by an incoming call from her younger sister, Ruby, along with a message: _OMG YANG YOU WONT BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

_Whoa,_ she thought. _And here I thought I was the only one having a crazy night._

She put the Scroll to her ear. "Heya, sis. So what's going on?"

* * *

"I still can't believe this is happening!" Yang laughed, giving her sister a hearty embrace. "To think the two of us would both be attending Beacon in the same year! And here I was, worrying about what you'd do without me to watch your back!"

"Y-Yang...that's the fifth time you've said that," Ruby protested, her voice muffled. "Um, also, you're kinda squishing me…"

"Whoops! Sorry about that." Yang let her go, and smiled as she beheld Ruby in her Huntress getup. She really did look like a mighty warrior in that battle dress, clad in black and red and a few hints of silver. It was hard to reconcile this Huntress-in-training with the tiny, sickly little girl Yang had looked after for years. "Oh, just seeing how much you've grown brings a tear to my eye," she sighed happily.

Ruby glanced down, her face full of uncertainty. "Grown, huh? You think so? That's nice, I guess…" She glanced around them, at the countless of other aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses aboard the Atlesian airship _Naglfar,_ and gulped. "I _was_ excited to get in early, but now...I dunno, everyone else here's so tall. And most of them look like heroes already."

"So do you," Yang insisted. "Not just any fifteen year-old girl can hunt Grimm as effectively as you do. Hell, I'm willing to bet you're already as badass as some pro Huntresses out there. You're gonna do just fine, sis!" She put a reassuring hand on Ruby's shoulder, and her sister looked up at her with a smile, her expression relaxed.

_BREAKING NEWS,_ the airship's television suddenly blared, catching their attention. Yang and Ruby turned to see Lisa Lavender, Vale's most renowned news anchor, standing in front of a wrecked department store. The picture of a shady-looking man appeared on the screen, and Yang felt Ruby stiffen beside her at the sight of him. "That's…" she gasped.

"Today, yet another incident in a long stream of Dust robberies was committed in downtown Vale," Lavender reported. "The authorities believe that once again, the crime lord Roman Torchwick was responsible for the attack. Several large bombs were detonated, and the perpetrators managed to sneak in and steal large shipments of Dust in the chaos. Despite a quick response from the local police force, the suspect managed to escape." Numerous images of the crime scene showed up on the screen, depicting the damage caused.

"That's awful," Yang muttered. She turned to Ruby, noticing her expression. "What's the matter…? Oh, right - that's the guy you fought, right?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded quietly. "He's scary. I almost managed to catch him, but...well, he got the better of me. It's only cuz that Huntress showed up that I got out okay."

"At the time of the crime, a small rally held by the local Faunus was taking place near the building," the reporter continued. "Several of them were killed and many more were injured in the explosion as well as the ensuing attack. While the victims have not been identified, it is believed that they were members of the White Fang branch in Vale. One of the group's high-ranking members, Adam Taurus, has released a statement regarding the incident."

A video began playing, showing a red-haired, masked Faunus with bull-horns addressing the camera in front of a blood-red flag, on which a white wolf's head and claws were depicted. "This attack is simply the latest stage in an unending crusade of violence and discrimination against our people," Adam declared. "Roman Torchwick and those like him have made their hatred of us no secret over the years. And soon, we will respond in kind."

Drawing his crimson blade, he stepped closer to the screen."This message is for all of humanity, to inform them that we of the Fang will no longer sit idly by and let your butchery continue. The day of retribution draws near, and when the dust settles, this land will belong to Faunus and Faunus alone!" With a menacing snarl, he swung his sword, and the screen cut to black.

"He's...pretty scary, too," Ruby muttered, staring at the screen as it returned to the broadcast. Several people had also stopped to watch the report, and some of them cast nervous glances at the many Faunus onboard the ship.

"Well, people like him are also part of the reason we're here," Yang said reassuringly. "Him _and_ that Torchwick guy. We're gonna get even stronger, and we'll be able to keep everyone safe from being hurt by them. I promise!"

As she said that, the TV screens were suddenly filled by a notification of an important announcement: the hologram of a regal blonde woman appeared at the front of the airship, catching everyone's attention. Yang recognized her: she was Glynda Goodwitch, a professor at Beacon Academy, and one of the most popular Huntresses out there - particularly among young boys. Ruby had told her all about her encounter with Goodwitch on that fateful night, and how the Huntress had rescued her from Roman.

"Welcome, students," Professor Goodwitch said, and her voice was kindly yet stern. "You all have the incredible privilege of attending Beacon Academy, to become the next legion of Huntsmen and Huntresses, sworn to protect Remnant from the Creatures of Grimm and other threats. At this academy, you will be tested to the very limits of your strength, in order to forge you into the best possible versions of yourselves. But for now, please enjoy the view, and on behalf of all the staff here, I welcome you all to Beacon."

As the hologram faded away, Yang and Ruby saw the silhouette of a large castle emerge from beneath the clouds. _It's beautiful,_ Yang thought. If anything, the pictures had been selling it short. _We're gonna be spending the next four years here...I wonder how long it'll take for me to think of it as home. Well, the food's not gonna be better than Dad's cooking, that's for sure!_

As the aircraft descended, Yang turned to her sister, who was staring down at the academy with her eyes practically sparkling with excitement. She didn't know what the road ahead had in store for her, but at least she would have Ruby with her every step of the way. Besides, the unpredictability of it was what made it so exciting in the first place. She wouldn't have enrolled here if she'd thought it would be boring.

_Beacon Academy, huh…_ Yang smiled to herself. _I think I'm gonna have a pretty good time._


	5. First Impressions

**Chapter 1: First Impressions**

**RUBY**

When she was a little girl, Ruby would often have the same, blissful dream, night after night without fail.

In her sleep, she would find herself standing before a great castle, constructed from columns of beautiful white ivory stretching high into the sky, as if straining to pierce the moon and stars themselves.

The sun would shine down on her, its bright yellow rays enveloping her body in a warm glow as she watched flocks of lovely black birds flying above, bathing in the light. And all around her were fields of lush red roses, reaching out far beyond her line of sight, seeming to go on forever. They would call out to her as she approached the castle's gates, with voices of people she didn't recognize, yet felt as though she'd known for years.

The first time she'd dreamt it, Ruby had woken up the next morning remembering nothing but the vague memory of something pleasant. But every day afterwards, she would recall one more detail of her dream, piece by piece, until one day she was able to recount the entire thing to Uncle Qrow.

Her mentor had laughed, not maliciously, and told her that her dream sounded like something right out of a fairy tale. It was a pretty thing to think about, but nothing one might find in the real world.

And yet the castle in her dreams was all Ruby could think of as the _Naglfar_ descended from the skies, bringing the full majesty of Beacon Academy into view. She'd seen pictures and videos of the place many times, but viewing it up close was an entirely different experience. It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen in her life - besides Crescent Rose, of course.

_Uncle Qrow was wrong,_ Ruby thought with a smile. _Fairy tales_ are _real._

"Hey, Ruby?" Yang gave her a bump on the shoulder, breaking her out of her stupor. "Get your mind back to Remnant, sis. Looks like everyone's getting ready for landing."

Ruby looked around and sure enough, crowds of students were heading away from the inner deck, either carrying their luggage on their back or dragging it along the floor. A scrawny, meek-looking boy was awkwardly scrambling his way through the crowd, a nauseous expression on his face.

"Come on," her sister said with a grin. "Let's go get a better look at our new home."

Ruby smiled back. "Okay."

As the airship prepared for the final stage of its landing, Ruby and Yang made their way to the front of the passengers, getting several looks from other students as they passed by. Ruby did her best to avert her gaze, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes.

She wondered what they thought of her, a petite girl who clearly looked younger than the average Beacon freshman, standing among so many future heroes of Remnant. Perhaps they resented her for 'cutting in line'? Did they think she cheated her way into the school?

While lost in thought, she bumped into someone's steel-plated shoulder. "Ow! Sorry," she said hastily to the scrawny boy, who had now turned an alarming shade of green. His face was crunched up in a tortured expression, and he didn't even seem to have noticed her. Taking this as a blessing, Ruby rushed ahead to where her sister was waiting for her.

"There you are," Yang laughed as Ruby bent over, gasping for breath. "I almost thought I'd left you behind. That would've been a story to tell Dad and Uncle Qrow, eh? On the very first day, I had to fish you out of the Lost & Found bin again."

"Aw, shut up." Ruby gave her a soft punch in good humour. As she looked around at the hundreds of other students, she let out a nervous sigh as her gaze moved down to the floor. "It's kinda scary, isn't it?"

"Scary? How so?"

"I mean, there's a lot of people here. Way more than there ever were back at Signal Academy. And we're gonna be basically living with all of them for… almost four years? Doesn't that sound overwhelming to you?"

Yang seemed to ponder this for a second. "Hmmm… nope, not really. I dunno how to keep telling you this, Ruby, but you need to stop thinking of people like they're the Grimm or something. Sure, most of these guys are strangers to us, but not all strangers are bad guys."

"... Dad told us they are," Ruby muttered.

"When you were six!" Yang laughed. "C'mon, lighten up. This is a great opportunity for you. Just think of all the friends you're gonna make here at Beacon - and they'll all be brave, strong warriors, just like your favourite heroes! Not like you have a choice anyway, since we'll all have partners and teams and everything."

Ruby knew about that, even if she'd tried her hardest to forget it. She didn't understand why she would need a partner here at Beacon - she could hold her own in battle just fine. The only people she'd ever fought alongside with were Yang, Qrow and occasionally her father, and she was perfectly fine with that.

She thought about Professor Ozpin, and how the headmaster had discreetly bent the rules to allow her early entry into Beacon. Was it possible he could do it a second time? Give her a special privilege to be excluded from this whole "partner system" nonsense? It was a long shot, but maybe… just maybe…

Suddenly, Ruby felt the _Naglfar_ come to a sudden halt as it completed its landing. Almost immediately, the front doors opened and students began pouring out en masse. Taking a deep breath, Ruby took her first step outside, into the wonderful world of Beacon Academy, sticking as close to Yang as possible.

Yes, that was a good plan. If she absolutely, no questions asked, had to be stuck with a partner, she'd just make sure she was paired up with her sister. It just made sense: they'd always done everything together, so why should this be any different? They already knew each other's fighting styles, and they could cover each other's weaknesses, so they'd be perfect partners. That why, she wouldn't need to make any stupid 'friends', ever.

Qrow would probably laugh at at her, say she was being a wimp - but Qrow wasn't there. Ruby smiled and nodded to herself as she basked in the brilliance of her plan. It was perfect, absolutely perfect, and as long as she stuck with Yang at all times everything would turn out fine-

" _YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!_ " Suddenly, a young woman's voice rang out from somewhere in the crowd, her yell as loud as the crack of thunder. Alarmed, Ruby turned around and saw, in the distance, a short ginger-haired girl waving excitedly in their direction, grinning ear to ear. A dark-haired boy stood by her side, wearing a worn green robe that Ruby recognized as Mistralian design.

"Heey, Nora! And Ren, too!" Ruby saw her sister wave back, an equally enthusiastic grin on her face. "Long time no see!" Yang gave Ruby a pat on the shoulder, ignoring the confused expression on her face, and ran off in their direction. "I'll meet you in the auditorium for the ceremony!" she shouted before disappearing in a sea of faces. "Make at least one friend by then, alright? See ya!"

"H-h-huh? No, wait!" Ruby reached out for her, but it was no good - Yang was out of sight, and already at least twenty people were between them, with virtually no hope of her getting through. It was then, while nearly suffocating from the weight of countless students surrounding her on all sides, that she realized her genius plan had failed, and she had just lost her only lifeline. Overcome by shock, she felt herself leaning back.

At that moment, several things happened at once.

The scrawny boy from earlier - who was now directly behind her - finally reached his limit, and with a horrid, nightmarish gurgle of a sound, threw up the entirety of what had presumably been his breakfast. An ocean of milky, orange fluid cascaded onto Ruby's head, shoulders and back, along with soft, wet chunks that smelled of toast and eggs. Many pieces clung to her hair, a few made themselves a new home inside her hood, and more still came dripping down onto her face.

Screaming at the sudden warm sensation, Ruby leapt forward, accidentally activating her super speed. She felt a sharp pain in her head as she collided with someone in front of her, falling gracessly onto the concrete ground below. Groaning, and fully aware of how awful she smelled, she turned her head to see the scrawny boy keeled over, hands on his stomach as he continued retching with no end in sight.

_Gross,_ she thought, horrified. Looking up, she noticed that most of the people in the crowd were backing away from her with expressions of disgust and fear on their faces. Well, at least she didn't feel so claustrophobic anymore, but Ruby was hardly in a position to feel good about that.

After a moment, she saw that there was another girl lying in front of her, clearly dazed from the collision. She was clutching her suitcase, which now lay open, and a few pieces of the vomit had gotten into her otherwise immaculate white hair. "Oh gods, I'm so sorry," Ruby tried to say, crawling over to her. "I didn't mean-"

She paused, only now realizing she was holding something in her hands. Somehow, during the collision, she'd found herself holding two expensive-looking vials of Dust - one of fire and the other of ice. Worse still, the two vials had been cracked open from the fall, and their contents were mixing together, producing a suspicious-looking black smoke…

"Uh-oh," was all Ruby could say, before the explosion happened. She had the vague sensation of flying straight through the air, flailing wildly, before crashing back down to earth, now also covered in soot from head to toe, whimpering in agony.

If the bystanders weren't avoiding her before, they certainly were now, as most of them fled in the other direction, screaming. A few stayed behind to help the white-haired girl to her feet, anxiously asking if she was alright. They pulled her to her feet and began ushering her towards the school, completely ignoring Ruby a few feet away.

Ruby lay on the ground, her body hurting all over, and decided that death by a Grimm mauling didn't sound so disagreeable at the moment. Before she could wallow in her own misery, however, she saw someone approach her - the boy.

"Are you okay?" he asked sheepishly, his face looking significantly healthier, though it had traded out its green for a bright shade of red. He extended a hand to her. "I'm so, so sorry. That was all my fault. Trust me, I don't usually get motion sick, but it was pretty rocky on that ship, and-"

"It's fine." Ruby brushed him off, wincing from the pain as she got to her feet. She still had no desire to converse with anyone, least of all the person who had just thrown up all over her and caused her to become a human bomb. "I'll just… be on my way…" Ash-stained chunks of vomit began falling from her hair, and suddenly she wanted to cry.

"No, really! Look, here, let me at least clean you up." Desperate, the boy rushed over to her with a dainty lace handkerchief in his hand. Before Ruby could respond, he began to gingerly brush her hair, along with her shoulders and cape, scraping away bits and pieces of the abominable mess that had gathered on her. It wasn't a perfect job, but she was grateful nonetheless.

"Guess I should introduce myself," the boy said. "The name's Jaune. Jaune Arc. It's, uh, nice to meet you?"

"Ruby Rose," Ruby muttered, getting a better look at Jaune Arc: he had short, messy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and from closer up he was more average-sized than scrawny, his large suit of armor making his actual build appear smaller. His weapon lay at his hilt - a rather unimpressive-looking sword and sheath.

By this point, all the other students were long gone. The two of them began their arduous walk toward the front entrance, groggy and smelling like filth. "So, super-speed, huh?" Jaune asked, breaking the silence. "That's a neat Semblance."

Ruby nodded silently. Her Semblance - a unique ability powered by Aura, the manifestation of one's soul - was indeed useful, and had gotten her out of many difficult situations before. But in this instance, it had clearly done more harm than good.

"I wish I had a Semblance," Jaune sighed, staring at his hands. "I mean, I know I have one - everyone does, I just haven't found it yet. Maybe here at Beacon it'll finally happen, and then I can just as good a Huntsman as everyone else."

_He hasn't found his Semblance yet?_ Ruby found that odd. It was true that the vast majority of people never unlocked their Semblance, but those who followed the Huntsman's path typically discovered theirs during prep school.

"I wonder what we're gonna do here," he continued. "Are they just gonna send us out to fight Grimm right off the bat? Or are we gonna be stuck in classrooms most of the time? I know I shouldn't have anything to worry about, but sometimes I wonder if I'm up to the task. Last thing I wanna do is let down everyone back at home."

Ruby frowned at him. "... Do you usually talk to yourself that much?"

"Huh? Myself?" Jaune stopped in his tracks, looking confused. "I'm talking to you, obviously. You know, since we're friends. Aren't we?"

Ruby was shocked, but when she thought about it, she realized that Jaune was, in a way, her friend now. Her very first friend at Beacon. She should have been happy about that, but when she looked at him, she couldn't help but feel he didn't quite live up to the image of a noble, fearless warrior that she'd always admired.

Then again, who was she to judge? "Yeah, you're right," she said. "I… I'm sure you'll be fine. I mean, we're all here cuz we proved ourselves worthy, right? I mean… except maybe me. I'm actually two years too young to be at Beacon."

"Really? You're fifteen?" Jaune looked at her, surprised but also with a glint of admiration in his eyes. "That's amazing! If you got in early, that just means you're even better than the rest of us! You're probably gonna do great."

Despite herself, Ruby smiled at the compliment. "...Thanks," she said softly.

They finally reached the school, and some annoyed-looking coordinators ushered the two of them to the auditorium, where the opening ceremony was already underway. Multiple heads turned as Ruby and Jaune entered, and quite a few of them looked away in disgust, whispering to each other. Her face flushed in embarrassment, Ruby tried to find her sister in the crowd.

"You have traveled here today because you seek strength," came a voice on the stage, and Ruby immediately recognized the man as Professor Ozpin. It seemed like they'd arrived in the middle of his speech. "You believe that by becoming strong, you will find what is necessary to protect what is precious to you.

"But strength will only take you so far. By itself, power can be used in service of creation or destruction, in equal measures. It is my hope, and the hope of everyone on the academy board, that your time here at Beacon will provide you with all the skills needed to hone that strength into something more - something truly indomitable." His gaze moved over the hundreds of students gathered before him, and for a brief moment his eyes seemed to rest on Ruby.

"Many of you are prepared to swear yourselves to protecting the people of Remnant from the Grimm. In time, you will find that there is far more to being a Huntsman, far more duties than a single person can hope to accomplish. My greatest hope is that with the knowledge you will find here at this school, when the time comes you will be able to make the right choice - a choice you can be truly proud of."

Suddenly, an indignant scream filled the hall. " _There you are!"_ The white-haired girl from before was pushing her way through the crowd, her hair and dress still dirty, her pale blue eyes filled with rage as she furiously approached Ruby. " _You._ You're the one who pushed me, aren't you?"

"I-I… I didn't mean to." Ruby protested, aware that all the eyes in the room were on her now. "It was just an accident…"

"She's right!" Jaune added, rushing to her defense. "It was my fault. I, um, got sick at the wrong time and, well…" He winced as people began to laugh at him.

"Oh, shut up, both of you," the girl snapped. "You _do_ know that was some very expensive Dust you ruined, right? And what about this dress? Worth more than all the Lien you've ever spent in your lives, I'd bet. You could have nearly gotten someone killed, and if you think some silly excuses are going to-"

"You're Weiss Schnee, right?" An unfamiliar voice interrupted her rant. Ruby turned to see a dark-haired girl wearing a bow emerge from the crowd, moving gracefully as though she were a shadow. "The heiress to the Schnee Dust Company?"

Weiss Schnee stared at her in confusion. "... Obviously, I am," she finally said. "You'd be hard-pressed to find someone in Remnant who _doesn't_ know my name. I'm painfully aware of that fact."

For a few seconds, the dark-haired girl simply stared at Weiss, creating an uncomfortable silence in the great hall. "It's rare to see someone from such a rich family covered in filth, and with such an ugly look on her face." Her eyes squinted in an expression of barely-concealed scorn. "I have to say though, I think it suits you better."

"You… how dare you!" Weiss yelled, all her anger at Ruby forgotten in an instant. The mysterious girl ignored her, however, and simply slinked back into the crowd, vanishing as quickly as she'd appeared. Weiss turned back at Ruby and opened her mouth as if to speak, but seemed to think better of it. Without another word she stormed off, as bystanders stepped aside to let her through.

"Did she have to be so mean?" Ruby wondered aloud, and turned to Jaune to see if he agreed. To her dismay, he was blankly staring ahead, his gaze transfixed on where Weiss had been a moment ago.

"... As you can plainly see, cooperation is necessary for our survival," Professor Ozpin said, a hint of wry humour in his voice. "That is why one of your first - and most important - lessons will be to learn how to work with your fellow Huntsmen and Huntresses, to create bonds that will last beyond your years here at Beacon. Keep this in mind when you are matched with your partners tomorrow. That will be all - thank you."

His speech concluded, and everyone burst into applause. After a brief hesitation, Ruby joined in.

Professor Goodwitch took the stand. "Tomorrow, your initiation will begin. You will all gather in the ballroom for the night, with separate sections for boys and girls. Be sure you are all ready, if you plan on making it out in one piece." With that ominous statement, she dismissed the students and followed Ozpin off the stage.

Shortly afterward, Ruby bid Jaune farewell, and made a beeline for the nearest shower room. After cleaning herself up as best as she could, she somehow found her way to the ballroom, ignoring the looks and whispers from passerby. Instantly recognizing a head of long, loose golden hair, she ran over to her sister.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed happily, opening her arms for a hug. She yelled in surprise when she instead got a flurry of punches and kicks to the stomach, along with some angry screaming. "Ow! Hey, what are you doing?"

"Why did you ditch me?" Ruby asked as she glared at her sister, who stood at almost a full head taller than her. "Thanks to you, I got puked on, I blew myself up, and then I got yelled at in front of hundreds of people! "

"Oh, I've heard all about it," Yang chuckled. "I have to say, sis, you've exceeded my expectations. The first day and everyone's already talking about 'Bomb Girl and Vomit Boy'. You're already a celebrity!"

"Stop it, stop it!" Ruby groaned. "This is _not_ how I wanted to become famous! I mean, at least Jaune turned out to be kinda nice, but it doesn't make up for everything I had to go through! I wish I'd just stayed at Signal…"

"Jaune? Who's that?" Suddenly, Yang's eyes lit up. "Oh, wait. Ohhh, I get it… don't tell me, sis. Do you already have a boyfriend?"

"No, no, _no!_ " Ruby yelled, no longer caring that people could hear her. "It's nothing like that! Just stop talking to me! This is the worst day of my life, and it's all! Your! Fault!"

Yang placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "... Sis, it's okay," she said, her voice becoming far gentler. "Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby. What matters is you don't let it keep you down. You'll get over it, and before long this'll just be a funny story to tell your friends at parties." Her mischievous smile returned. "Trust me, I'm gonna get a _lot_ of mileage out of this."

"I know you will," Ruby replied, her anger subsiding, as she suddenly realized there were tears streaming down her cheeks. "But I'm not gonna hold back, either." Wiping them away, she gave Yang a playful punch to the shoulder.

Before long, the night was upon them, and the two sisters lay in their sleeping bags, watching the stars shine through the glass ceiling. And with them was the moon, its shattered half visible this time of year. Ruby always found it an eerily beautiful sight.

"Tomorrow's the day," Yang said.

"Yeah," Ruby said. "I… I hope you're my partner, sis."

"Honestly? Me too. But if things don't go so well…" Her sister smiled at her before tucking herself in. "Well, you can't come crying back to me forever, y'know."

Ruby smiled back, and closed her eyes.

* * *

**WEISS**

As always, she woke up at the crack of dawn.

Yawning softly, Weiss made her way to the locker room as the first rays of the morning sun came in through the ornate windows. They were fancy affairs, but not quite as overbearing as the ones in Schnee Manor, and she was perfectly fine with that.

Her hair was tied up in her favourite side ponytail, and she'd picked out a fresh new dress. It smelled of perfume, which Weiss didn't normally enjoy, but it was preferable to keeping her defiled old outfit. The previous day, she'd learned what scrambled eggs and ham smelled like mid-digestion, and she'd give quite a bit of Lien to cleanse it from her memory.

So her life at Beacon hadn't begun on the best note. But she resolved to put that behind her, and make sure that after today, people would remember her for who she truly was: not a rich girl, not a Schnee, but a _prodigy._ She opened the door to the locker room, fully expecting to be the first one inside.

She wasn't.

Approaching the only other person there, Weiss saw it was the dark-haired girl from yesterday - the one who had insulted her in front of everyone. The girl turned around, adjusting her bow, and their eyes locked. Several seconds passed, and the silence between them was almost tangible.

"You're early," the girl said, breaking the tension.

"I could say the same to you," Weiss replied coldly. "I must say, I didn't expect to see you again so soon, miss... ?"

"Beaumont," she said. "Blake Beaumont. I come from a little village called Quilt, on the outskirts of Vale. Most of us were farmers or fishermen. No one was ever really rich, and the weather wasn't always kind to us, but we made it work."

Weiss nodded slowly. "I'm happy to hear that."

"At least, until prospectors found a hefty Dust deposit under our land. Then some corporate suits came to verify the findings, and in the blink of an eye almost all our crops were gone, our houses and farms demolished, replaced by a large factory and some very unsafe mines." Blake's steely gaze never left her as she spoke. "They were right about the Dust, though. The company made money. A lot of money, and _they_ didn't have to give up anything."

Weiss met her stare, suddenly feeling very threatened - which was ridiculous, of course. How could this girl pose any threat to her, the Prodigy of Atlas? "... That wasn't me," she finally muttered, fully aware that it was the worst possible thing she could have said.

"Of course it wasn't," Blake said, her tone unchanging.

Suddenly, the tension was broken by the sound of the door opening. Relieved, Weiss turned around to see another girl enter the room. She was a tall, beautiful young woman with fiery scarlet hair, bright green eyes, and already clad in a full set of ornate, bronze armour. Just from a glance, she would seem to be a famed Huntress from the great legends.

"Hello, everyone!" she chirped, unaware of the animosity brewing between Weiss and Blake. "Who's ready for a great initiation today?" Her voice was sweet and friendly, but seemed strained - almost artificial.

Blake ignored the girl; her attention had turned back to her own equipment, and she simply returned to her preparations as if the other people in the room didn't exist. She softly hummed a tune to herself as she worked.

Weiss, meanwhile, stared at the new arrival. "I know you," she exclaimed, her heart beating with excitement. _Careful now, don't betray yourself._ "You're Pyrrha Nikos, aren't you? I've seen you all over the news! I hear you're the best Huntress-in-training in all of Mistral."

"Oh, is that what they say about me?" Pyrrha smiled, going to retrieve her weapons - a lance and shield, with the same aesthetic as her armour. "That's an honour, but I'm afraid those tales have somewhat exaggerated my strength. I hope you won't be too disappointed."

But Pyrrha's assessment of herself was wrong, and Weiss knew it. Every aspiring Huntsman and Huntress worth their salt knew about Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl, and the stories that were told of her prowess. Four-time grand champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament, graduate with top honours at the notoriously strict Sanctum Academy, and winner of several medals for heroism in her hometown's Grimm repulsion efforts, it was hard to think of a seventeen-year old with a list of accomplishments more impressive than Pyrrha's.

In other words, she was the perfect partner for Weiss. Why, if they were on the same team, they would be unstoppable. Not only would they be the most undefeatable duo in terms of both combat skills and classroom smarts, but they would be all but guaranteed to sweep the Vytal Festival Tournament in the fall term.

It was the chance of a lifetime, better than anything she could have hoped for. All she had to do was become Pyrrha Nikos's partner, and Weiss was set for life. Feeling all of her hopes and dreams coming true, Weiss opened her mouth, preparing to say something that would butter the girl up.

"It's a neeeeeeeeeew day!" An obnoxiously loud voice rang out, echoing throughout the locker room. A ginger-haired girl entered with a wildly enthusiastic grin on her face. "This is gonna be the best day _ever!_ I can feel it!" She began singing to herself as she danced towards her locker, the other two girls trailing behind her. One was a tall, blonde beauty who was dressed like some village tramp, and the other, practically clinging to the blonde's arm was…

Weiss locked eyes with the girl in the red cape, and though it was only for a moment, she felt an unpleasant scowl form on her face. When she turned back, Pyrrha had gone over to her own locker, on the other side of the room, greeting the students who were now beginning to flood into the room like a flock of lemmings. Her perfect opportunity was ruined.

Seething, Weiss gathered her equipment - Myrtenaster, spare Dust vials, her combat skirt - and stormed out as fast she could, making her way to Beacon Cliff. Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch were waiting, and she felt a pang of relief to see she was the first one to arrive.

"Good morning, Miss Schnee," Ozpin said, with a good-natured smile and a twinkle in his eye. "You're as punctual as I'd expect from someone with such a disciplined upbringing."

"Thank you, professor," Weiss replied, hoping she sounded like the very personification of respect. "I hope my performance today will impress you."

"We shall see, very soon," the headmaster chuckled.

He seemed to like her - that was good. Taking a deep breath, Weiss decided to take a chance. "If I may, professor, I'd like to request my partner - Pyrrha Nikos, of Mistral. Of course, whether she'll agree is up to her, but -"

To her dismay, Ozpin shook his head, still smiling. "I'm afraid that's not allowed, Miss Schnee. All of our pairs will be chosen the same way - no privileges, no first-come, first-serve basis. That being said, I hope you'll be satisfied with whomever you're partnered up with."

Weiss's mouth was left agape. "But-"

"Please position yourself on one of the platforms, Miss Schnee," said Professor Goodwitch, her voice far colder than her superior's. "The rest of the students should be arriving shortly… if they don't wish to face the consequences."

Reluctantly, Weiss made her way to one of hundreds of strange, stone slabs engraved with the Beacon emblem that were scattered along the cliff. She stood on its surface, noting how uncomfortable it felt under her heels.

As Goodwitch had said, the other students soon arrived, and before long all of the stone platforms were occupied by people of all shapes and sizes, from a variety of different cultures; Weiss recognized some of them as her fellow Atlesians, while others were dressed like peasants - likely from the deserts of Vacuo.

To her unending horror, it was none other than the 'Vomit Boy' from yesterday who mounted the platform beside her, and immediately flashed her an insufferable grin. "Hey, snow angel," he said. "I don't think we properly met. The name's Jaune Arc. I find that the ladies have a hard time forgetting it."

"Please refrain from talking to me," Weiss said icily. "Or looking at me. Or breathing in my general direction. In fact, please stop breathing altogether. That would do me much good, thank you."

As Jaune Arc's face fell, Professor Ozpin began to speak to the gathered students. "I'm glad to see everyone is here on time," he announced, taking a sip from his coffee mug. "Your initiation will take place in the Emerald Forest, which lies before you. You may have heard that the place is quite dangerous, teeming with many dangerous Grimm."

He took another sip of his drink, and smiled at them. "It is my pleasure to inform you that those rumours are entirely true." A series of nervous laughs and whispers ensued.

Professor Goodwitch took over. "Somewhere within the forest are a set of 'relics' - items that prove your capability to overcome obstacles and triumph over adversity. You will be graded on how many you obtain. Know that the moment you enter the proving grounds, you will receive no support from us nor the instructors - your success, and your survival, depends entirely on your ability to adapt and cooperate."

"Which brings us to the partner system," Ozpin continued. "After the initiation, you will be sorted into teams of four - but those teams will be comprised of two pairs. This initiation will also determine your partners, who will serve as your most loyal companions." He smiled again, and pushed up his glasses. "When you enter the forest, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

Weiss's heart sank. _It can't be_ that _random, can it?_ Desperate, she leaned over to see where Pyrrha Nikos stood, several rows ahead. She made a mental note to keep track of wherever the redheaded girl ended up.

"That should be all," the headmaster said. "Now then, I hope you all prepared a good landing strategy. And remember… things are not always what they seem." With that, he pressed a button on the end of his cane.

Immediately, the platforms sprung to life, flinging the students into the air - some screaming, others calm and focused - in the direction of the Emerald Forest. Weiss gritted her teeth and readied Myrtenaster. She'd been preparing for this moment, but it would all mean nothing if she couldn't pull it off.

"W-wait!" Beside her, Jaune was panicking. "What landing strategy? Um, I don't think anyone gave me my parachute! Are we getting parachutes? Are there gonna be soft pillows to break our fall? Guys? _Guys?_ "

Ignoring him, Weiss waited for her turn. Soon, the platform beneath her activated, and she felt a sudden rush as she flew into the sky, her skirt billowing beneath her. _Be graceful,_ she told yourself. _You must remain graceful. Like a bird._ She glanced down, where the vast expanses of trees unfolded below, far away at first, before getting closer and closer.

Weiss activated her Semblance, creating several glyphs below her that slowed her descent as she fell through them. It wasn't enough, however, so she pointed her rapier downward and activated a chamber of gravity Dust, causing her to gently float towards the ground. She landed soundlessly on the soft grass below, her arms outstretched as if giving a performance.

_Perfect form,_ she thought triumphantly. Of course she'd had no reason to worry - the very idea was foolish. She was Weiss Schnee, after all, and Weiss Schnee was not known for her failures.

She made her way through the Emerald Forest, warily holding Myrtenaster. At any moment, a Grimm could leap out at her, thirsting for blood. She had to be prepared for that. And then there was the initiation itself - she had to find some 'relics' hidden in the forest, but where could they possibly be? Was it some sort of scavenger hunt?

She found the first Grimm in a clearing, growling as it prowled among the trees, sniffing the air as if it could smell the scent of humans - which in a way, it could. Weiss observed from a distance, noting it was the rather common Beowolf-type Grimm, albeit a fairly large specimen.

Never one to waste an opportunity, Weiss lunged at the Beowolf, her rapier glowing with fire Dust. The hulking wolf of a monster was fast, however, and turned around before she could even blink. Its claws tightened around Myrtenaster, and even as it howled in pain, its merciless grip never loosened.

Gritting her teeth, Weiss summoned a glyph, knocking the Grimm back and freeing her blade. Before it could recover, she thrust Myrtenaster upward, impaling it in the beast's right eye. There was a soft _squish,_ as if it were tearing through jelly.

"How vile," she muttered, preparing to pull Myrtenaster out. However, just as she let down her guard, she heard the Beowolf's faint growl. Its other eye opened and stared directly at Weiss, its gaze nothing but pure rage.

_Impossible! It should be dead!_ But regardless of what was possible, the beast threw itself at her, as if its existence was sustained solely by its unbridled hatred for all life. It had barely moved an inch, however, before a bright red flash moved across its neck, stopping it in its tracks. Its body fell limply to the ground, crumbling into ashes, leaving Weiss with the Beowolf's head skewered on her blade. A second later, it too faded away.

With nothing left between them, Weiss found herself face-to-face with the girl in the red cape.

Time seemed to stop. _No,_ Weiss thought. _No, no, no, no, please. Not her._ Even knowing that the rules were rules, she turned and began walking away.

"Hey!" the girl in red called out indignantly, putting away her weapon, but Weiss paid her no attention. "We're supposed to be partners now, remember? Where do you think you're going?"

"Wherever you're not!" Weiss replied angrily.

"You know, I _did_ just save your life! You kinda owe me one right now!"

"I could have handled it myself." But even as she said that, Weiss's feet stopped moving. The girl was right, and she knew it. She had a debt to pay, and besides, this was all the consequence of her own mistake.

Sighing, Weiss resigned herself to her fate. "Come on, then. Make sure you can keep up." She continued walking, not looking back even once, as she heard the girl's footsteps shortly behind her.

"I'm Ruby, by the way," she said.

"I don't care," Weiss said.

"Why are you acting like that? If we're gonna be partners, we should at least talk to each other!" She heard Ruby walking faster, and hastened her own steps to stay ahead. "I mean, I don't really _want_ to talk to you either, but isn't this what partners should do?"

Weiss sighed. "You seem to be getting 'partners' confused with 'friends'. Even if I've resigned myself to being your partner, that doesn't meant I'd _ever_ want to be your friend."

For a minute, there was nothing but the sounds of their footsteps and the rustling of trees, and Weiss thought she'd shut her up. But as it turned out, Ruby wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet. "Umm…" she heard the girl say. "Do you have any siblings, Weiss?"

_I guess I'll have to endure her, for now._ "I have a younger brother… and an older sister, named Winter. She practically raised me through all of my childhood, and helped train me into the warrior I am today." Despite herself, she smiled as the memories came flooding back. "She's the most important person to me in the whole world."

"Oh! I have an older sister, too!" To her shock, Ruby had somehow crept up on her, and they were now walking side by side. "Her name's Yang, and she also raised and trained me for most of my life! I guess we've got a lot in common after all, Weiss."

"No we don't," Weiss replied. "And please don't _ever_ say that again."

It was some time later that they came across another clearing, where some trees had been smashed and nearly flattened - clearly some student's landing spot. Weiss and Ruby could make out the shape of a person nearby, who seemed to be talking to someone unseen.

The person saw the duo approaching and waved. "Hello again!" Pyrrha Nikos said.

It was at that moment that despair overcame Weiss Schnee. If she had just landed a few metres closer, she could have run into Pyrrha herself and become her partner, just like she'd intended. She wanted nothing more than to fall to her knees and bawl her eyes out, but she forced herself to keep her composure.

"It's… good to see you too," she said, nearly choking on her own words.

"You're Pyrrha, right?" Ruby stared at her in awe, clearly recognizing the famous Invincible Girl. "I've heard of you - you're awesome!"

Pyrrha laughed nervously. "Thank you. I have to admit, I didn't realize just how well-known I am here in Vale. To be honest, it's a little overwhelming." There was a rustling in the tree above her, and several leaves came falling down. "Come on, it's not as high as it looks," she said.

Someone came crashing down in a mess of crusty leaves, letting out a pained yelp as they landed on their behind. In their hand, they held Pyrrha's ornate lance, which had lodged itself in their hood. "Ow, ow, ow, ow…" Jaune groaned, flashing an embarrassed grin at Pyrrha. "Hey, uh, thanks for helping with the landing."

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha replied cheerfully.

Weiss glanced at them in horror, the truth dawning on her. Of all the students in Beacon, Pyrrha Nikos was stuck with _him_ as her partner? She could hardly imagine a more devastating fate.

"Hey! Jaune!" Ruby greeted her friend, who eagerly waved back. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Nice to see you too, Ruby," Jaune said. "Ha, it's kind of a shame. I wouldn't have minded if you were my partner, actually…" As he said this, Weiss saw Pyrrha's face fall for some reason.

Suddenly, she felt a lightbulb turn on inside her brain. "Hey, I just thought of a wonderful idea," she said, praying to the gods that it would work. "Since the four of us are here, and there seems to be… dissatisfaction with how things have turned out, why don't we all exchange partners? Nobody will need to know!"

"Huh? Really?" Jaune's eyes practically lit up. "Are you taking any offers, Miss Snow Angel?"

_I want to throw up._ "Not you," she hissed. "Pyrrha. I think the two of us are, to put it simply, meant for each other. We're the two smartest, most talented, most promising students in all of Beacon. Us as a partners would be a match made in heaven."

"Well, thank you. But no, I'm quite pleased with the current situation," Pyrrha said amicably.

_That's_ all _she has to say?!_ Weiss was crestfallen. "I-I see," she stammered, trying and failing to hide her disappointment.

"What's wrong with you?" Ruby said angrily. When Weiss turned to look at her, she was surprised to see her partner looked genuinely hurt. "I know I'm not perfect, but I'm trying my best! Really! Are you just like this because your family's rich?"

Hearing those last few words, a cold fury erupted in Weiss. Her eyes narrowed. "It wouldn't matter if I was the poorest peasant in Mantle," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I'd still marry a Beringel before even thinking of pairing myself up with you."

Ruby stared at her for a moment, before sharply turning away. Drawing her scythe, she began silently cutting down trees in her anger. _How uncivilized,_ Weiss thought disdainfully. She turned to Jaune and Pyrrha, who looked very uncomfortable. "I'm so sorry for your loss," she said to the Invincible Girl.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Pyrrha didn't seem to understand.

Suddenly, they heard Ruby speak. "Huh? Hey, guys… take a look at this…"

Weiss looked, and saw her partner standing among several freshly-made stumps. She was staring at a set of trees in front of her, looking confused.

"Yes, Ruby, that's what a tree looks like," Weiss sneered.

"No! I mean, look! I tried to cut it down…" Ruby swung her weapon, but the scythe simply passed through as if it weren't there. There was a faint shimmer as the tree's shape seemed to distort itself, before returning back to normal.

Jaune yelled in surprise. "What the heck? Is this some kind of illusion?"

Weiss walked over to the 'trees', suddenly thinking of something. Something her father had once shown her, in one of the few conversations they'd had in the past several years. _It's still in the testing phases, girl,_ Jacques Schnee had said. _But when it's done, it will change the rules of battle itself. Every warmonger from here to Vacuo will empty their wallets for us. Even the great General Ironwood himself will fall to his knees, and beg for my gifts._

And then she remembered what Ozpin had said right before the initiation started. _Things are not always what they seem._

She reached out, and felt her hand disappear into the mirage. The others all screamed at the sight of her limb vanishing.

"Ahhh! It's eating her!" Ruby exclaimed, horrified.

"No, you dolt," Weiss snapped. "Just follow my lead, okay? I promise, it's not going to hurt you." Even so, she took a deep breath as she stepped in, feeling the world behind her disappear as the illusion broke. A moment later, she heard Ruby, Pyrrha and finally Jaune enter after her.

"What is this?" Pyrrha gasped.

"It's a new type of Dust," Weiss explained. "Mirage Dust, to be exact. My family's company was still developing it when I left, but it seems the academy somehow obtained a prototype. It's meant to project an illusion to the outside world, concealing everything within a certain area." She looked up. "Things like this."

They were still in the Emerald Forest, but in front of them stood a large, towering mountain, something none of them had seen from outside. A large, gaping cave stood as the entrance to the structure.

There was also a small wooden sign next to it. _Congratulations on completing the first phase of the test,_ was written in fancy green handwriting. _Another important lesson to learn as a Huntsman is to grasp the true nature of things. The relics you seek lie within the mountain - the higher you get, the more points they're worth. Good luck, and try not to die! -O_

"...Well then," Pyrrha said, smiling at Weiss. "It seems having you with us was the best boon we could have hoped for."

"Thank you," Weiss replied. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to reconsider my offer?"

"I'm afraid not." The redheaded girl wandered into the mountain's maw, Jaune at her side.

"This place looks…pretty scary," the boy muttered.

Weiss and Ruby were left alone. The girl in the red cape turned to her, and her silver eyes were apprehensive, yet resolute. "It looks like it's now or never. You sure you can keep up, partner?"

"Of course," Weiss Schnee said.


	6. The Proving Grounds

**Chapter 2: The Proving Grounds**

**YANG**

Yang had always wanted to fly.

She knew it was impossible, of course. An open window, two broken legs, and a very angry reprimanding from her father at the age of six had done well in proving that. But the fire in her hadn't been put out, not permanently. She wanted that rush of adrenaline, that feeling where the ground could no longer restrain her, of soaring through the heavens as if the very walls of the world had fallen around her, that breathtaking freedom the winged ones knew so well.

In her dreams, she had flown. She had spent countless nights gliding through the endless expanses of the sky, where nothing could hold her down and tell her that things were impossible. But all dreams had to end, and hers certainly did. In her younger days, when she awoke in her bed to find herself still limited to her own two feet, the crushing sadness was enough to drive her to tears.

Though it could never compare to the euphoria she'd experienced in her dreams, Yang felt that familiar rush as the platform launched her into the sky, in the direction of the Emerald Forest. She let out an excited yell as her head filled with a childlike glee, one she hadn't known in so many years. _I'm flying,_ she allowed herself to think for a few moments, _I did it. I can finally fly!_

Of course, it wasn't long before she remembered she was, in fact, falling, and would need a solid landing strategy if she hoped to remain in one piece upon impact. That thought did not faze Yang, however; it simply gave her an entirely different rush of excitement, one that her teenage self was more familiar with.

"It's ride or die, baby," she said to herself, grinning from ear to ear as she put on her favourite pair of sunglasses mid-flight, and cocked both of her Ember Celica gauntlets. Firing multiple times, she propelled herself through the air with their recoil, leaping past the trees as the leaves brushed violently against her face.

 _This is the life!_ Yang thought blissfully, before crashing face-first into a particularly stocky cedar, plowing straight through its trunk and out the other end, spinning uncontrollably as she landed on the hard ground below, sending clouds of dust and grass into the air.

Groaning in pain, Yang struggled to get to her feet, her vision a blurry sludge of whiteness and spots of green. Her ears were practically screaming in agony, as a sharp ringing tore mercilessly through her head. Her arm, back, and legs felt like they were about to crumble and fall apart.

"That was _awesome!_ " she laughed, throwing her hands up and letting out an enthusiastic cheer.

Her moment of joy was cut short however, as the sounds of a very familiar growl triggered her Huntress instincts, snapping her back to her senses. From within the trees, Yang spotted several pairs of molten red eyes, as three large Ursae emerged from the shadows, their faces of bone frozen in cruel grimaces.

Feeling her blood pumping, Yang readied her gauntlets. "Looks like you brought the whole family, huh?" she said mockingly, not really caring whether they could understand her taunts. She launched herself at the Grimm, embedding her fist in the closest one's skull. As the creature howled in pain, Yang propelled herself backwards as her shot blasted blasted off a large chunk of the Ursa's head.

Now her enemies were truly out for her blood. The Ursa charged at her with pure hatred etched onto what remained of its face, as its brethren followed closely behind. Yang ran at them with reckless abandon, ramming both her gauntlets into the beast's exposed underbelly, and felt a rush of satisfaction as it finally disintegrated into ashes.

She'd left herself open, however, and the second Ursa struck her across the face with its massive paw, knocking her to the ground. Before Yang could recover, the Grimm was on her, its hideous visage mere inches from her face as it snarled angrily. "Get off, ugly!" she yelled, filling the beast with an onslaught of shotgun blasts. She barely noticed as it faded away dead, and continued to fire wildly at empty air.

The last remaining Grimm was the largest of them all, and it ran much faster than its bulky size would suggest. Yang was fully in the heat of the battle now, and she could feel the fire pumping through her veins and sending her heart into overdrive. She felt as powerful and as deadly as the Great Gold Dragon from the old fables, capable of obliterating any foe in her path.

So she charged, screaming wildly with Ember Celica ready and loaded as the beast grew ever closer, looming a full two heads over her. Its first strike took her right in the abdomen, but Yang gritted her teeth through the pain and stood her ground, countering with a fully powered uppercut into the Ursa's chest.

Howling, her enemy swung its fist, and Yang swiftly caught it with her other hand. She unloaded an entire magazine of shell into its arm, and watched in satisfaction as the black limb exploded into a soup of gunpowder, fire and ashes. Suddenly, her vision grew dark, and as she yelled out in surprise, she felt a sharp, stabbing pain on both sides of head.

By the time she realized the Ursa had her in its mouth, she was screaming in pain. Feeling a surge of panic, she flailed wildly in the darkness, shooting and hoping for freedom. It never came, however, and she felt her head begin to fill with stars.

 _No… no!_ Desperate, Yang reached out and managed to grab the Ursa's neck with both her hands. Letting out a defiant cry, she clenched her fists as hard as she could while firing Ember Celica at full force, crushing the beast's windpipe. She felt a rush of relief as the pain in her skull finally left her, and her vision returned as what remained of the Ursa Major disappeared into clouds of ashes.

She let out a loud sigh and stretched out her arms, glancing up at the birds in the sky, hurriedly flying north as if they were fleeing from something. _Now that was a battle!_ Yang thought triumphantly, feeling very glad to be alive. Still feeling the aches over her body, she brought out her Scroll to check her Aura levels - she was down to 10 percent.

_Oops._

The initiation had only just begun, and there were undoubtedly more dangerous enemies to come; perhaps throwing everything she had at just three Grimm wasn't the best idea after all. Nevertheless, Yang continued to press on, undaunted. If more of them came after her and she had no Aura left, she'd just have to kill them all without it.

 _But if I had a partner…_ That thought flashed in her mind, and Yang paused in her tracks. She'd nearly forgotten that part of the initiation was to sort everyone into pairs and subsequently teams. A partner could watch her back, pull her up when she fell, and keep her safe when she was weak. Out there in the unclaimed lands, infested with armies of Grimm, Huntsmen had to stick together in order to survive. She knew that.

But she didn't need anyone to protect her. After all, Yang was strong - she'd always been stronger than everyone else, and she intended to keep it that way. It was her job to keep other people safe, not the other way around.

 _Speaking of which,_ she thought. _I wonder where Sis is right now._ Despite what she'd said yesterday, Yang was worried about Ruby. She may have been a prodigy, but she was still a fifteen year-old girl, and her big sister instincts weren't something that could just be abandoned, certainly not when they were separated in a forest teeming with Grimm.

As she continued walking, Yang felt a small pang of guilt. _I'm no good to people if I can't even protect myself._ She'd have to be a bit more cautious, it keep herself distracted from that depressing thought, she wondered who might be her partner. If it couldn't be Ruby, maybe one of her other friends? Either Ren or Nora, her companions from back at Signal, would pair up well with her.

But there was a slight complication to that idea. _I'm gonna be Ren's partner, no matter what!_ Nora had declared to her the night before, viciously embracing her childhood friend while his face turned a frightening shade of purple. _And if anyone gets to him before me, I'm gonna rip out their arms and force 'em down their throats!_ And since Yang greatly valued her arms, she'd decided that option was firmly off the table.

 _What to do, what to do…_ Suddenly, Yang heard a rustle in the bushes nearby. "Who's there?" she yelled, feeling the fire reignite as she turned around the sound, gauntlets raised. "If you're a Grimm, I hope you're ready to get your skull bashed in!"

After a moment of silence, the thing in the bushes moved again, and Yang saw that it was trying to escape. Whatever it was, if it was a human it would've had no reason to fear her. "Eat lead!" Abandoning her resolve to be more cautious, she opened fire, sending clouds of burning leaves flying into the sky. As the smoke cleared, she could make out the shape of what seemed to be a person, before it abruptly disappeared.

"Wha-" she began, but was cut off as something rushed towards her, so fast that all she could see was a blur before the tip of their blade was at her neck. Barely able to breathe, Yang stood frozen in place as she stared into the pair of deep, amber eyes that were boring into hers. The realization that her target hadn't been a Grimm was little comfort when she couldn't even move for fear of the knife digging into her throat.

After a moment, however, the mysterious girl's expression relaxed, and she retracted her weapon. Yang immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but to her dismay the girl simply turned and began walking away, as if completely disregarding her existence. "Hey! Come back!" she said indignantly.

"...You're not the one I'm after," the girl replied, not even pausing to look back. "Find someone else. Though with how loud you are, I'm sure someone will find you first."

"Loud? Hey, I'm not loud, unless you want me to be." When her attempt at a joke failed to elicit any response from the mystery girl, Yang in her disappointment managed to get a closer look at her. Suddenly, she remembered where she'd seen the girl: she was the one who'd had the titanium lady-balls to insult that Schnee girl in front of the entire auditorium yesterday.

 _I could do with someone like that on my team,_ Yang thought admiredly. With renewed confidence, she called out to the girl. "Nice to meet ya! I'm Yang! Y'know, I've kinda got a habit of keeping young maidens safe from harm, so I think we'd make the perfect partners!"

"Thanks, but I can protect myself," the girl replied indifferently. She was almost out of sight now, and Yang was getting desperate. _Now or never, Yang! Go for it - use the forbidden Xiao Long method! Just like Dad taught you!_

She rushed over to the girl's side, sliding to a stop as she maneuvered her right arm to suavely (or so she hoped) wrap around her target's waist. Unfortunately, all Yang caught was hot air, and as the girl's silhouette disappeared she lost her balance, and fell clumsily to the ground. As she got up, she heard the rustling of leaves fading away into the distance. _And that's a miss._

Letting out a huge sigh, Yang rested her bottom on the dirty grass below, staring glumly up at the sky. It had been awhile since she'd been rejected quite so soundly and she had to admit, it stung a little. Putting aside her current predicament, it hurt knowing that she'd been left behind by someone without so much as a backwards glance - even if it was someone she didn't know.

"Well, I guess I can't just sit here and mope," she muttered, her attention piqued by the sounds of battle nearby. This was still an initiation, after all, and she had to complete it - partner or no partner. Perhaps killing some more monsters would help take her mind off this little upset. "Maybe someone else is over...there...eh?"

Yang heard a rustling in the trees behind her, far more violent that what the mystery girl had produced. She stared into the forest, her confusion turning to panic as she heard the menacing growl, saw the bright molten eyes emerge from the darkness. And with those eyes, a massive, pallid face of bone, a pair of sharply curved horns on either side, and hooved feet that left black puddles wherever they stepped.

 _Ah, shit._ Realizing too late that this newcomer might have been attracted by her earlier battle, Yang braced herself as the Grimm charged at her, letting out a hideous cry as it tried to ram her with its horns. She gripped them with Ember Celica, but found to her dismay that it was far stronger than the Ursae. It was taking all her effort just to remain in place.

Howling, the horned Grimm leaned down before raising its head upwards, Yang with it. Helpless, she felt her fingers slip as her feet left the ground, and the next thing she knew she was flying again. This time, however, wasn't nearly as fun as it had been a short while ago. She flailed her arms wildly, yelling as she braced herself for the merciless impact of gravity.

Thankfully, it came quickly, but it was no less painful. "Ow!" she screamed. "Ow, ow, ow…" Groaning as she got up, Yang barely had time to recover before the Grimm burst out through the trees, eager to continue its rampage. She dodged out of the way, causing the beast to impale its horns in a nearby trunk. As it struggled to break free, Yang bombarded its head with shots, to little effect.

The Grimm finally freed itself, and in a panic Yang leapt up onto the beast's back, emptying a magazine into its hide. It screeched in agony and began to charge again, attempting to throw the girl off. Barely keeping her balance, Yang leaned over and grabbed both its horns, grimacing as she forcefully steered the creature's movements.

 _Just like in the movies!_ As she maneuvered her way through the forest, Yang felt a wide grin spreading over her face. This was the sort of crazy, adventurous feat she'd always dreamed of doing as a Huntress. _And I'm the heroic, dashing-_

Too late, she realized she'd stopped paying attention, and her punishment was a tree trunk to the face as she violently crashed. Before she knew it she was flying again, and was able to register that she was by some cliffside before landing painfully on her back.

She glanced at the fall behind her. Not too high, but definitely not a drop she was willing to take. Yang stared down her opponent, and felt a pang of satisfaction seeing the large wooden splinter that had lodged itself in the Grimm's eye, which only seemed to make it even angrier than before.

 _Okay, I can finish him,_ she thought as it charged at her. If she activated her Semblance and met the beast with all her strength, there was no doubt in her mind that she would be victorious. Letting out a battle cry, she felt the adrenaline rush through her as her hair began to glow with golden energy, and her body was filled with the strength of a hundred men…

…and then she promptly collapsed to the ground, exhausted, as the last bit of her Aura was depleted. _No!_ Realizing her folly too late, Yang looked up in horror as the horned Grimm rapidly approached her. Well, if she was going to die, at least she would do it while staring her killer in its ugly face.

Suddenly, she saw something emerge from behind the monster. A familiar thin blade, attached to a rope, sliced through its back legs, breaking its charge and causing the beast to fall over in its tracks, coming to stop mere inches from Yang. As she looked up in surprise, she saw someone leap onto the incapacitated Grimm's head.

"...You!" Yang broke out into a wide grin. "You came back!"

"I could hear your battle from a mile away," the girl in the bow replied, flashing her a wry smile. "I have to say, it seems like you're the one who needed saving."

"Haha… trust me, this usually never happens," Yang chuckled sheepishly. "So I guess we're making this official now? I never got your name, by the way."

"I'm Blake," she said. "And yes, I suppose we are. But first, maybe we should kill this Grimm." Sure enough, the beast was stirring beneath her, still very, very angry.

Yang began pummeling its horns, doing whatever she could without her Aura to boost her strength. She heard the satisfying crunch as one of the appendages cracked, and she tore it off with all her might. Before the monster could recover, Blake slid underneath it and began repeatedly hacking at its legs, causing it to stumble violently.

"Get out of the way!" she instructed, and Yang quickly dodged to the side as Blake positioned herself in front of the beast. Seeing red, it charged at her with reckless abandon, only to phase right through her silhouette as she gracefully leapt over it. Howling angrily, the horned Grimm flew straight off the cliff and out of sight, its cries fading abruptly.

"That thing…" Yang panted, "was a total dick."

"A Minotaur-species Grimm," Blake noted, slowly walking over to the cliff's edge. "They respond very violently to foreign sounds. You really must have been loud if you made it _that_ angry. Don't you ever tire yourself out when you…" She paused. "Hm?"

Yang went over to her. "What is it?" She looked over the edge and saw… nothing. Just a perfectly ordinary lake and some trees below.

"Even if the fall killed it, a large Grimm like that shouldn't have faded away so quickly," Blake muttered, carefully retrieving a small Dust canister from her utility belt. "Maybe…" She threw the container into the sky, and it had barely fallen before it suddenly disappeared into nothingness, as if a void had opened up and swallowed it whole. "I see. I thought something was off about this place."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Yang asked, shocked by what she'd just seen. "And what the hell just happened?"

Blake shifted her weapon into a grappling hook, and held out a hand to Yang. "Just hold on tightly, and please don't scream." Yang opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything, her partner threw her weapon into the void, dragging both of them into it. And Yang screamed.

When she opened her eyes again, they were standing on what seemed to be a mountain, overlooking the entire Emerald Forest. Far below them, she could see the last specks of the Minotaur's body fade away into nothingness.

As Yang blinked in confusion, Blake nodded her head as if something had just been confirmed for her. "I knew it. These must be the real proving grounds. I'm willing to bet the relics are inside, too." Without waiting for a reply, she ran inside.

"Hey!" Yang followed her into the cave. "Are you saying you knew about this?"

"I had a suspicion. Besides, I'm familiar with this sort of trickery- Atlas' mirage Dust. It's top secret, and the illusions they create are really difficult to see through."

"Seriously? That sounds really cool!" Yang frowned. "But if it's top secret, then how do you know about it?"

"... Experience," Blake replied, and that was all she would say on the matter.

It wasn't long before they found some Grimm, but these were packs of the Creep variety, widely considered the weakest of them all. They easily dispatched the horde and cleared their way to a dimly lit room where something was placed atop a stone pedestal. Retrieving the trinket, Yang saw it was a charm in the shape of an ornate golden lamp. "This is a relic?" she asked. "It's pretty cute."

"The headmaster said we'd be graded on how many we found," Blake noted. "This is just one, so there must be a lot more around here. We should split up and find as many as we can."

"Split up?" Yang scowled at her. "Come on, we just met!"

"Don't be so dramatic. I'm not abandoning you or anything," her partner sighed. "But we can cover more group alone than in a pair. And it's probably best that we stay away from trouble."

Suddenly, they heard a series of explosions from somewhere nearby. "Oh gods, there's _that_ many?!" A girl yelled indignantly. "I knew we should have done things my way instead!"

"Stop complaining!" replied another voice, one that was all too familiar. "Look, just stay behind me, and we'll take 'em together!"

Blake glanced warily in the direction of the voices. "...She's there," the girl said softly.

 _I knew you had it in you._ Yang was smiling from ear to ear. "Come on!" she said. "Let's go help them out. And I've got someone to introduce you to."

* * *

**RUBY**

They were screwed.

"We should go right," Weiss insisted as the foursome found themselves at a fork in the path. "That cavern is wider, so we'll have more space to move around in."

"They both look pitch-black," Jaune said anxiously, peering into the darkness as he shuffled towards the torches on the wall. "M-Maybe we should turn back and find another way up?"

The heiress gritted her teeth, and Ruby could see she was fuming. "How about _you_ go back and try to move around this place alone, you worthless idiot? I'm telling you, we should all go through the one on the right!"

"That cave may be wider, but that also means more enemies," Pyrrha Nikos pointed out gently. "Perhaps we should take the left cave instead, just to be safe."

"Pyrrha is absolutely right," Weiss said unflinchingly. "Jaune, Ruby, please make your way to the left cavern. Or do you need me to tell you both again?"

Ruby sighed as she followed her partner into the cave, having mentally resigned herself to whatever misfortune might befall them. She turned to Jaune, who for a moment seemed to have considered the Schnee girl's offer as he glanced back in the direction they'd come from. After a second, his better senses took hold of him, and he hurriedly ran back to them.

Weiss took the lead, igniting a vial of fire Dust on her rapier and giving them all a light source. It wasn't much, but Ruby was grateful to at least be able to see the walls of the cave, as well as rows of rough carvings that seemed to depict caricatures of humans and animals at war.

What she was less grateful for were the piles of yellow, rotting bones at their feet, scattered aimlessly throughout the cavern. Ribs, femurs, finger bones, all of them clearly decaying, as if they'd laid there for decades. Disturbingly, some looked as though they'd been gnawed on by… something.

 _CRACK!_ Jaune yelped as he stepped on something; when Weiss turned to shine the light on it, Ruby saw it was a humanoid skull - and an unusually small one, at that. _Where did all these bodies come from?_ She thought, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. _M-Maybe Ozpin just really puts his all into building the atmosphere._ Somehow, she didn't think that was the case.

"Are these bones from Beacon students who, y'know, didn't…?" Jaune gulped, and though Ruby couldn't quite make him out in the dark, she could see that his hands and legs were shaking in fear. "We're not gonna end up like that, right?"

"I… don't think these were Huntsmen-in-training," Pyrrha said gravely, and even the Invincible Girl seemed troubled by what they were looking at. "Look at the size of these bones. Whoever this was, they were a child - likely no older than ten."

 _A child._ Chills ran through Ruby's spine as she beheld the skull, which had been smashed beyond recognition. A little boy or girl had perished in his very cave, killed by Grimm or starved to death, or by some other horrible cause. She couldn't bring herself to picture it.

Ruby had almost died as a child, once. She'd been so young that she couldn't even walk back then, and even the memory of her experience was little more than a small blur, laced with the unmistakable feeling of terror. But she could remember the rocking of she wagon she'd laid in, Yang's sobs from somewhere out of sight, and the glare of the black beast that approached them, its mouth slowly opening to reveal the rows of sharp, jagged teeth within…

"They were probably put here to frighten us," Weiss said, breaking Ruby out of her recollection - and for the first time, she was grateful to the Schnee heiress. "Well, it's not going to work. Come on, the initiation isn't going to complete itself."

She briskly walked down the corridor with the group's light source, and the other three quickly ran after her. Ruby took one final glance at the remnants of the dead before they were swallowed by the darkness. _I'm not gonna end up like that,_ she promised herself. _And I won't let anyone else end up like that, either._

They made their trip in silence, and all Ruby could hear was the sounds of their footsteps, and the occasional droplet of water falling from the rocks above. She was grateful to have some peace and quiet, but it wasn't so comforting when she was in a dark cave with minimal light and monsters waiting to attack. _I'm actually starting to think a written exam would've been better._

Weiss stopped. "Hold on. Does anyone else hear that?" Ruby frowned and, glancing around in the dark, realized she could hear some faint noises from above, sounding like a mix between growls and chirps. She looked up, and saw a slight movement - something was on the ceiling, likely watching them.

"...There," she said, pointing. Weiss raised Myrtenaster and as she did so, their eyes beheld at least a hundred black bats, covering every inch of the ceiling above them. The moment the light shone upon them, it was like a switch had been flipped: hundreds of eyes darted open, and the room filled with the shrillest, most piercing cries Ruby had ever heard. And then they began to fly.

At once, all hell broke loose. The four students began running as fast as their legs could take them, barely keeping ahead of the veritable storm of winged creatures bearing down upon them with fangs bared. They were not Grimm, but would kill them all the same if they got the chance.

As she ran, Ruby turned back and shifted Crescent Rose into a rifle, firing into the horde of bats. A few were shot dead, but the storm showed no sign of slowing down. If anything, they seemed to get even more ferocious with each one she killed. The bats were charging relentlessly, zooming in on…

"The light!" Ruby shouted at her partner. "They're after the light!"

Weiss understood, and put out the fire on her rapier. Immediately, the entire cavern was enveloped in complete darkness, and Ruby's heart was seized with a sudden panic as she went blind. Behind, she could still hear the bats coming towards them, though their approach seemed to have slowed.

"Jaune? Weiss?" she cried out, reaching out into the dark, desperately grasping for something, anything. She felt a rush of relief as she found someone's hand, and held on as hard as she could. "D-Don't leave me!"

"What are you doing?!" came Weiss's voice, her indignance not enough to mask either her fear nor her relief at not being alone in the darkness. "Let go of me, you stupid girl!" she shouted as she gripped Ruby's hand tighter.

Ruby glanced behind them, but there no sign of Jaune or Pyrrha. They could have been right behind her and she wouldn't have been able to see a trace of them. "Guys? Are you there?" she shouted, but there was no response.

"There!" Weiss pointed up at a hole in the ceiling, where rays of light were shining down. "We can get through there, but it looks too high…"

 _Not for me._ Ruby activated her Semblance, and with a leap she soared off the ground and through the opening, carrying a screaming Weiss along with her. As they landed, a bit less gracefully than she'd have liked, Ruby blinked as the bright sunlight flooded her eyes once more. _We're free,_ she thought, but knew it wasn't really the case.

"Let's never do that again," Weiss grumbled, angrily letting go of her hand.

"You're welcome," Ruby replied after a tense moment of silence.

To her credit, the heiress had the grace to look humbled. "...Thank you," she finally said. "Now then, where's Pyrrha? I need her to be around so we'll at least be on the same team together." She glanced back down the hole, but there was no sign of either of their companions.

"Jaune?" Ruby also glanced down, calling out for her friend, but got no response. "H-He'll be okay, right?" she asked, mostly to herself. "I mean, he's got Pyrrha to help him, and besides, he _is_ a Huntsman-in-training, so I'm sure he can defend himself…"

"Oh, who cares about that idiot?" Weiss snapped. "Don't you understand what you just did? Thanks to you, we just lost our best asset for getting to the top at Beacon! _The_ Pyrrha Nikos, and we just left her behind! And why? Because we were afraid of some bats?"

 _Does she have to make everything into a fight?_ "You were just as scared as I was!" Ruby retorted, losing her patience with the Schnee girl. "What were we supposed to do? We were down there in the dark, with no sense of direction while an army of those things were about to eat us alive!"

"Losing our only light was _your_ stupid idea, and look how much good that did! I should have just asked Pyrrha for advice, anything she'd come up with would be better than yours."

"Why are so obsessed with her?" Ruby asked angrily. "You don't have any confidence that you can succeed on your own, is that it?" She let the words slip off her tongue without thinking.

Weiss stared at Ruby like she'd just slapped her in the face. Her mouth hung open, but before she could respond, a low growl caught their attention. As it turned out, while the two of them had been arguing, they'd managed to find themselves completely surrounded. And not just by a few Grimm, but a horde of Beowolves, Ursae, and even several of the armored Boarbatusk types.

"Oh gods, there's _that_ many of them?" Appalled, Weiss turned her rapier against the incoming tide, while Ruby covered her back. "I knew we should have done things my way instead," she muttered, loud enough that she clearly wanted Ruby to hear it.

 _Even now, it always has to be about you._ For a moment, Ruby considered abandoning her partner to the beasts, as she would have certainly done to her. But she knew she couldn't do that - she was not Weiss, and besides, her own life was at stake kere, too.

"Stop complaining!" she yelled, readying Crescent Rose. "Just stay behind me, and we'll take 'em together!"

Ruby fired into the crowd of Grimm, managing to wound some of the smaller Beowolves, but these beasts were older and stronger than their brethren, and mere bullets did little to slow them down. Swallowing nervously, Ruby shifted her weapon back into a scythe, preparing for a life-or-death charge.

A loud explosion rang through the area, as a large shotgun blast tore a nearby Beowolf into bits. Ruby blinked in a surprise for a moment, then slowly turned her gaze towards the nearby entrance, a smile spreading across her face as she beheld the two girls running towards them.

"Sis!" she yelled joyfully as Yang approached her, and wrapped her arms tightly around her older sister. "You made it! You didn't die!"

"Heheh, I'm just as surprised about you," Yang chuckled, embracing her in return. "But let's continue this emotional family reunion later, okay?" As she spoke, she fired another shotgun shell over Ruby's shoulder, splitting open an Ursa's head.

"Okay!" Ruby agreed cheerfully, letting go and firmly grasping her own weapon. She leapt into the Grimm horde as she swung Crescent Rose with gleeful abandon, letting her Huntress instincts take over completely. She tore through their ranks, hacking off their hideous limbs and emptying rounds into their demonic eyes, until all she could see were black and red, and all she could smell were steel and smoke.

Decapitating an Ursa, she paused to catch her breath and saw that Weiss was having trouble dispatching a Boarbatusk. No matter how many beams of Dust energy she fired at its shell, or danced around its body with graceful blows from Myrtenaster, nothing seemed to be able to pierce through its thick armour. The beast knocked her over with one of its tusks, and prepared to pounce on the helpless girl.

Suddenly, a thin strand of ribbon wrapped itself around the Boarbatusk's leg, and with a confused howl it was flipped over onto its back. Without missing a beat, the black-haired girl who had arrived with Yang leaped onto its exposed belly, killing it with a single deadly stab. "You looked like you needed help," she said in a deadpan voice.

"You!" Weiss hissed furiously, and Ruby also recognized the girl from the opening ceremony. _Well… I can't imagine either of them are happy to see each other again._ Suddenly, she felt as though she hadn't gotten it so bad with Weiss.

"The Boarbatusk's weak point is on its underbelly," the girl said, her tone unchanging. "They seem tough, but get them off balance and they're an easy kill. I guess they didn't teach you that in your fancy prep school, Schnee?"

Weiss looked as though she were ready to attack the girl more savagely than any Grimm could ever hope to, but as Ruby braced herself for the explosion, Yang hurriedly leapt between the two. "Oh by the way, this is my partner, Blake," she said cheerfully. "She's awesome! And your new friend is…"

"... Weiss," Ruby said reluctantly, saying the name as though it were one of those hex phrases Uncle Qrow loved to frighten her with. "Weiss Schnee. She's, um…" She tried to think of a term that was accurate, but not overly hurtful, as the four of them stood back-to-back against the remaining Grimm. "...She's a girl."

"I can see that," Yang agreed with a smirk, cocking Ember Celica. "Alright team, let's go kick some ass!"

"Aww, yeah!" Ruby cheered, moving up to stand by her sister's side, Crescent Rose in hand.

"This shouldn't be much of a problem for me," Blake noted as she unsheathed Gambol Shroud. She turned to Weiss. "I hope this sort of fighting isn't too much for you, princess."

Weiss snorted. "Hmph! Like it would be!" She confidently raised Myrtenaster, ready to strike.

Ruby readied herself as the horde approached, a strange feeling welling up in her chest. _We're a team,_ she thought, and somehow knew it was true. Sure, she and Weiss got along as well as a helpless civilian and a Beowolf, and she barely knew Blake, but as the four of them stood united against a sea of countless Grimm, she could feel an undeniable sense of camaraderie between them. _We can do this. Together, we can do this!_

She ran at the monsters, with Yang by her side. Swinging Crescent Rose, she brought her steel edge down onto a Beowolf's neck, cleanly removing its head from its shoulders. Pressing the trigger, she launched herself back with the recoil as her bullet flew through another Grimm's chest. Using the sudden burst of motion, she spun around in a circle and bisected several incoming foes. She landed neatly on her feet, watching the ashes descend around her.

"That's my sister!" Yang laughed. "Alright Ruby, raise me up!" She leapt on Crescent Rose, launching herself into the air as Ruby swung it. Letting out a cheer, she cocked her gauntlet mid-air and dove at the ground with a punch, obliterating a horde of Grimm in an explosive impact.

Grinning, Ruby ran towards her and slew several of the stragglers. "Nice one!" she said, feeling her spirits raised. Suddenly, she felt like a proper fighter again; she really did work best with her sister. It really should have been Yang who became her partner, who else had such a flawless dynamic with her?

"Hyaaah!" Still high on the thrills of battle, Yang barrelled straight past Ruby, nearly knocking her over as she ran straight at an unaware Boarbatusk. Grabbing it by the tail, she threw it onto its back and pounced on its underbelly, yelling as she pummeled it over and over and over.

 _Oh no, not again!_ Ruby thought desperately. Her sister always got like this when she was too into her fights, and once she entered that state almost no one could break her out of it. _Okay. Maybe our teamwork isn't so great after all._

"Look out!" She turned around in shock, seeing a Beowolf's gaping maw inches from her face. Suddenly, it screeched to a halt as a purple beam slashed across the back of its neck, and its head fell uselessly to the ground. Blake retracted her blade and nodded at a relieved Ruby. "Hey. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks!" Ruby smiled at the girl; though she didn't know her yet, she knew Blake had to be a pretty good person if Yang approved of her. "My name's Ruby, by the way. It's nice to meet-" However, Blake didn't appear interested, and simply slipped back into the horde of Grimm like a shadow. "...oh. Okay."

Swallowing her disappointment, Ruby ran through the black sea, slaying several beasts that bared their fangs at her, as she made her way to Weiss. The heiress was gliding around the Grimm with immaculate grace, firing her Dust through the glyphs she'd summoned. Shards of ice rained down upon the Grimm, killing several instantly.

"Weiss, look out!" Ruby shouted as another Boarbatusk charged at the white-haired girl. Weiss summoned a large glyph underneath the monster's feet, greatly slowing its movements. She bombarded it with ice Dust, and when that failed to work, she tried to burn it with waves of fire Dust, but even that was ineffective against the Grimm's armour.

"Remember what Blake said?" Ruby called out to her as she held off another Ursa. "The belly is the weak spot!"

"Shut up! _Shut up!_ " Weiss snarled, continuing to throw everything she had at the beast, to no avail. The Boarbatusk broke free of her glyph, and charged at her even more furiously than before. Weiss was barreled over by its massive tusks, and disappeared into the sea of Grimm.

 _Oh no._ "Weiss! Weiss, are you okay?!" Ruby quickly bisected the Ursa, and ran to save her partner. She was distracted by another cry from behind, and turned to see Yang surrounded by at least ten Beowolves, flailing as the fire in her eyes was replaced by pure fear.

"Yang!" Now she ran to her sister, but a massive Ursa moved to block her way. Panicking, she tried to charge forward, but several other Grimm appeared seemingly out of nowhere, gradually overwhelming her. Ruby managed to kill a few with Crescent Rose, but a few more seemed to appear with each one that fell.

 _We're losing,_ she realized, as her heart sank. Even though the four of them had started off side by side, within moments they were all separated, fighting their own battles and leaving everyone else to the wayside. They couldn't fight like this. And they certainly couldn't survive a seemingly endless wave of Grimm with such poor teamwork.

Feeling more desperate by the second, Ruby turned to see where Blake was. Thankfully, she seemed to be doing well, slicing up Grimm with her katana as she swung around her foes with her weapon's grapple form. "Blake! Help!" Ruby called out to her, but though she was clearly within earshot, Blake ignored her.

… _Fine!_ Gritting her teeth, Ruby stood alone before the army of Grimm. Perhaps it had to be this way after all. That was alright, she supposed. After all, this was exactly what she'd been training for her whole life. _Fine. I can do this myself._ Activating, her Semblance, she charged into the fray with the blinding speed of a bullet…

She didn't know which of the Grimm knocked her out, or exactly what happened afterwards, but her next feeling was a splitting headache as her eyes groggily fluttered open. It took her a moment to realize she was in a bed, under some very comfortable sheets. Groaning, she sat up and shook her head lightly, which only made it hurt more.

"Looks like you're up." At the sound of that voice, Ruby turned to see someone sitting in the bed next to hers.

"...Yang?"

"Yo, sis." Yang flashed her a thumbs-up and an awkward grin. One of her teeth was missing, which did very little to diminish her appearance. "I think the two of us bit off a bit more than we could chew. Still, this has been one hell of a first day, huh?"

"Wh… where…" She glanced at the wall, which was lined with strange apparatus, a counter of Dust vials, and crudely drawn pictures. "Where are we?"

"The infirmary, duh. Apparently we got beat up pretty damn hard." Yang sighed, and stretched out her arms, looking quite relaxed for something who'd been 'beat up pretty damn hard'. "I know, it sucks that we lost, but they seem to be taking it pretty well." She nodded to the other side of the room.

Blake and Weiss were in their beds, and Ruby found that Yang's idea of taking things well was questionable at best. Blake was absorbed in a thick hardcover book ominously titled 'Ninjas of Love', while Weiss was sitting with her hands over her knees, silently staring into the abyss. Ruby was afraid to even speak a word in her direction for fear of potential instant death.

"We were actually just waiting on you," Yang continued. "All in all, you got up earlier than the nurse expected. Now we might actually make in time for the ceremony."

"Ceremony? What ceremony?"

"The team assignment ceremony, of course!" her sister laughed. "I guess those Grimm really _did_ hit your head pretty hard. We're all gonna be placed into four-person teams, based on our pairs and performances during the initiation. Of course, in our case it was pretty easy, considering, y'know…" She gestured towards herself, then each of the other three girls in turn.

"... Right," Ruby muttered. She supposed she was meant to be excited about this, but somehow couldn't think of any reason to be.

"Well, that's good," Weiss said suddenly, jolting upright in her bed. "Ozpin's going to assign each team a leader, and I know I'll be the one chosen for us. If I absolutely _have_ to be on a team with you three, at least under my leadership you'll never suffer a disastrous defeat like this again."

Yang snorted. "Don't think I didn't notice you left yourself out of that 'defeat' part. And what exactly makes you think you're the best leader out of the four of us? Your money?"

"Of course not!" Weiss said, bristling with rage. "I have all the characteristics of a great leader. Out of everyone here - not that there's any competition - I'm the most proficient in combat, most well-read, most honourable, most charismatic-"

"Most humble," Blake interjected, not looking up from her book.

"Precisely! So if the headmaster has any sense, he'll make me the leader, and I'll do my utmost best to make functioning members of society out of you all. It will be an uphill battle, yes, but on my honour as a Schnee, I swear I'll make it happen!" Leaping out of bed with a flourish, Weiss made her way to the door.

Sighing, Ruby forced herself to her feet and followed after her, with Yang at her side, and Blake quietly trailing behind.

The assignment ceremony was already underway, and it seemed to be nearing its end. "Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren," Ozpin was announcing, as the students' pictures flashed on the screen above. Ruby instantly recognized Jaune and Pyrrha, as well as Yang's two friends from earlier. She waved to them, and Jaune eagerly waved back.

"Together, the four of you collected more relics than any other team during the initiation, and that is a feat truly worthy of celebration." The headmaster paused, as the audience burst out into applause. Ruby and Yang joined them. "I think your report cards will reflect this quite well, provided you continue to excel in the months to come. It is my greatest honour to name you as Team JNPR, led by…" He paused, and there was a small glint in his eye. "Jaune Arc."

There was more applause, and poor Jaune looked just about ready to faint as his teammates began to congratulate him, Pyrrha a bit more enthusiastically than the others. A smile on her face, Ruby turned to see Weiss, who looked utterly mortified. She got some small satisfaction out of that.

"They really did better on the initiation than anyone else, huh?" Ruby whispered to Yang as Team JNPR left the stage.

"Well, mostly Pyrrha, from what I've heard," Yang chuckled. "She was actually the one who saved us when we all got wiped. Killed that entire horde of Grimm, all by herself. They don't call her the Invincible Girl for nothing!"

"And… we did…" Ruby didn't really want to finish her question.

"We got _one,"_ Yang said cheerfully, holding up the little trinket. "Better than nothing, right? I mean, I heard a few teams didn't even get to the proving grounds at all, so that's a small comfort, right?"

 _Not really._ Ruby shuffled awkwardly as they made their way onto the stage. All was silent, and she stared nervously into the dark crowd, at hundreds of faces that she couldn't see. Were they laughing at her? Did they already think she was a failure? She probably deserved it, after that shameful performance.

"And now for our final team of the day," the headmaster said. "Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Beaumont, and Yang Xiao Long. From this day forward, the four of you shall work together as Team RWBY, led by…" That glint in his eyes again. "Ruby Rose."

The crowd burst into applause, and Ruby's legs turned to jelly as she sunk into the floor. At least, that was how she felt as she glanced at their portraits on the screen, with hers in front of everyone else's. She barely registered her sister's joyful, enthusiastic hug, Blake's polite yet congratulatory clapping, nor Weiss's piercing death glare.

 _I'm the leader,_ she thought breathlessly. I'm _the leader?_ No matter how many times she repeated it in her head, it didn't make any more sense.

But maybe it didn't have to. Ruby felt her eyes move around the auditorium, and they rested upon Professor Ozpin. The headmaster returned her gaze, and he smiled. No, this was no accident, no slip of the tongue. He had chosen her, a girl too young to even attend his prestigious academy, to be her team's leader. Because he thought she was the right pick? Ruby had a hard time believing it, but she didn't have much choice.

So she would. She'd believe it with her entire being, until her heart could believe it as well.

 _This is your chance,_ Ozpin's eyes seemed to say. _Your chance to prove yourself. Prove that I was right to choose you._

 _...I will,_ Ruby thought. For better or for worse, her path had been set.


	7. Ice Queen

**Chapter 3: Ice Queen**

**BLAKE**

The inside of the dormitory was clean, tidy and warm, far better than the dirty floors and bitter cold that she was accustomed to. When she'd first pulled the blankets over herself, feeling their soft, comforting warmth, it almost felt _wrong,_ in a way. Like she was experiencing something she was never meant to have.

Blake knew she shouldn't get comfortable. _Think about what all of this cost,_ she told herself, glancing around at the neat beds, perfectly painted walls, and luxurious space of Team RWBY's room. _Faunus labour. Blood, sweat and tears. These are the Huntsman Academies, the beacon of hope for the world, built on the backs of slaves._

Still, she had made herself smile with the others as her team marvelled at their new dormitory. "Ahhhhh, it's the best!" Ruby Rose had exclaimed, immediately leaping onto one of the top beds with her silence, rolling around like a little child.

"Hey, no fair! I called the top bunk!" her sister Yang had replied, raising her hands indignantly as her eyes flashed red.

"Nuh-uh. I didn't hear you say dibs, sis." Sticking out her tongue, Ruby had pointed to the other bunk bed. "You can take the other one, you know. It's the same bed."

"It's _not_ the same! I'm older, so I get to pick first!"

"Oh yeah? Says who?"

"Says the International Older Siblings Protocol!"

"Aww, you're just making that up."

"You can't prove that!"

_How irritating,_ Blake thought. It seemed like all anyone here had to talk about was the most mindless drivel imaginable. She let out a deep, exasperated sigh, and felt a pang of dismay as the girl beside her did the same thing simultaneously.

"It's not _that_ luxurious," Weiss Schnee grumbled. "My family manor had bunk beds too, only they were twice the size of these things. I suppose I'll have to get used to it."

' _Get used to it'. Funny words for someone living in luxury._ Blake couldn't help herself from glaring daggers at the young heiress. To think she would actually be standing so close to Weiss Schnee herself, daughter of her people's greatest enemy. _Just as arrogant as her father._ Having to be on the same team as this despicable creature would be a bitter pill to swallow, but it was necessary for her mission. This way, she could watch Weiss closely, observe her every movement and even extract some secrets if she was lucky. And if she were _really_ lucky, Blake wouldn't have to be on her team for very long...

Weiss turned to Blake, and to her horror she saw that the girl was smiling. "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot yesterday," she said politely. "If nothing else, you seem to be far more civilized than the rest of… well, them." She pointed to where Ruby and Yang had started a loud and unnecessarily violent pillow fight. "So even though we're not partners, I think the two of us should really stick together."

"I… I think so too." Forcing herself to utter those words, Blake slowly held out her hand in a gesture of friendship. "Let's agree to start over, and work together as a team."

"That's what I like to hear." Beaming, Weiss shook her hand. Blake made a mental note to wash it thoroughly the moment she had the chance.

Once they had, somehow, forced the Rose-Xiao Long siblings to cease their quarrel, the newly-formed Team RWBY had settled on bunk arrangements. Dividing themselves into their pairs, Ruby and Weiss would take the top and bottom bunks respectively on the left side, while Yang and Blake would take the ones on the right.

"Isn't there anything you want to say?" Weiss's voice, directed at Ruby, had interrupted Blake as she'd prepared to tuck herself in.

"Huh?" The silver-eyed girl blinked in surprise. "M-me? What am I supposed to say? "

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Have you already forgotten? You're our leader, apparently. Start acting like one! Don't you have a big speech prepared for us, your loyal subordinates?" She gave a deep, sarcastic bow to Ruby. "It's the least you can do after we - er, after you failed so spectacularly today."

"Ummm…" Biting her lip nervously, Ruby turned to her sister for support. "Yang? I…"

"I think that's a great idea!" Yang said with a grin, giving Ruby a thumbs up. "C'mon, sis! Show us what you're made of! Blow us away with your amazing oral skills!" She chuckled to herself. "Heh. That's what she said."

"O-o-okay…" Ruby looked about ready to hyperventilate, to the point where Blake almost felt sorry for the poor girl. Nervously, she stood up on her mattress.

"Y-you all know me," she began, trying to put on a deep, strong voice. "Or, uh, maybe not. Actually, I think two of you guys don't. So, um, hi, I'm Ruby Rose. I'm fifteen, so I know I'm a bit younger than most people here at Beacon…"

" _Fifteen?!"_ Weiss exclaimed, her eyes incredulous. "This has to be a mistake. What were the professors thinking? You're practically a child, and they chose _you_ as the leader of my team?"

"Hey, hey, seventeen isn't that much older than fifteen," Yang protested, leaping to her sister's defense. "Besides, this wasn't any mistake. Professor Ozpin himself asked Ruby to join Beacon! She's the real deal, as real as you or me!" She nodded at Ruby, encouraging her to continue.

Ruby smiled awkwardly. "Y-yeah, thanks, sis. Okay, yeah I think I can do this." She glanced around the room, flashing her teammates a confident smile. But her eyes betrayed her; Blake could see the doubt and fear in them, and knew that the girl's words were lies. _I would know. I understand lying better than most people._

"I-I've got a lot of experience with fighting bad guys," Ruby declared. "I've killed a bunch of Grimm, just like everyone else here. Also, both of my parents were Beacon alumni, so it's basically in my genes."

"Uhhh, me too!" Yang raised her hand, grinning at her sister mischievously. "C'mon, sis, if that's your best sales pitch, why shouldn't I be the team leader, huh? Not I'd want to be, of course."

Ruby shot Yang a withering glare, with such intensity that Blake feared she was about to shoot beams out of her eyes and fry her sister alive. "Well, th-that's not the only advantage I've got," she retorted, and her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! That's right! I've actually fought Roman Torchwick himself and lived to tell the tale! How 'bout _that_ , huh?" She looked around at them triumphantly.

Weiss recoiled. " _The_ Roman Torchwick?" she gasped, and for a split second she looked genuinely impressed. "That can't be right. My family's tried to lock him up for over a decade, but they've never even caught him."

Blake didn't react; in a way, she wasn't even in the room anymore. _Roman Torchwick._ The name sent a chill through her, though the image it carried was of fire, ash and blood. If the Schnee Family were the Faunus enemy number one, then Torchwick was a very close second. The White Fang had lost countless men to his attacks, orchestrated for seemingly no reason than petty hatred.

She'd heard stories of his countless other crimes: extortion, drug trafficking, and even kidnapping Faunus children from their homes, selling them as slaves to the highest bidder, where they'd be tortured, worked to death, or worse. Much, much worse.

She clenched her fists, trying in vain to shut Torchwick's manic laughter out of the ears. She could hear it ringing, louder and louder as if taunting her, as all around her the flames burned brighter and brighter, and Blake could feel the blood running down her face...

"Haha, you mean you got played like a fiddle and needed Professor Goodwitch to rescue you," Yang laughed, breaking Blake out of her thoughts - and for that, she was grateful. "Sorry, sis, but it's not as impressive as you're making it out to be."

"Y-Yang!" Ruby exploded in anger. "I told you to keep that a secret! Whose side are you on here?!"

Weiss sighed. "Hmph… I knew it. In the end, you're nothing but talk."

Ruby hung her head glumly, as if conceding to her partner's words. An awkward, heavy silence filled the room as she prepared to tuck herself into bed. It looked as though she were ready to give up.

"Well, what else?" Blake said suddenly, the first words she'd spoken since Ruby's little ordeal had begun.

"Huh?" Ruby looked at her in confusion; the other girls also turned to Blake with surprised faces.

"You've talked about your accomplishments, but what about your motivations?" Blake asked softly, glancing over the girl in red. _She's young, but she seems as fierce as any Huntress. Born into luxury like most humans, no doubt, but she's a fighter. She must be a girl with some kind of purpose - like me._ "You're the leader of a team of Huntresses. So, what do you want out of this life? What do you fight for?"

Ruby paused, her eyes lowering as she reflected on Blake's questions. Finally, she smiled and raised her hand. And Blake could see the light that shone in her eyes, now filled with confidence and hope.

"I know I'm young," she admitted, "but I chose to be a Huntress because I want to protect people. I… I know that there's a lot of darkness out there in the world. Sometimes it seems like there's nothing but violence and conflict everywhere, and that peace is an impossible dream. But still… I want to make it better. I think that's what a lot of people want, too. We're just not willing to admit it, because we're afraid that there's no hope.

"But even if there's no hope, I think we should try." Ruby nodded, her voice rising louder, and Blake could hear the resolve emanating from her. "Honestly? I don't really _want_ to be a leader. I don't know _why_ I got chosen as the leader, either. But even if I don't have much experience with leading people, I think all of us here have the same goal." She smiled, and nodded firmly. "We're gonna make the world a better place - for humans and Faunus both. That's why I'm here, anyway."

As she finished her speech, the room went silent again. Ruby looked around anxiously, as if afraid that she'd said something wrong. Finally, Yang began to clap, the sounds ringing through the whole dormitory like explosives.

"Ha! Well said, sis!" she chuckled. "I knew you had it in you!"

"It was a good speech." Blake nodded. _Making the world a better place… it's an appealing thought, for sure._ But when you were actually out there, trying to improve things in life you found to be rotten… it wasn't quite as romantic as the fairy tales made it seem. She knew that well. "I look forward to fighting with you, Ruby."

Weiss said nothing. Her expression was unreadable as she silently tucked herself into bed.

Soon, all four of them prepared to go to sleep. Yang proposed getting some beer and having an all-night get-to-know-one-another party, or whatever she called it, but everyone else was far too exhausted. Not that Blake would have agreed to it anyway, and somehow she had a feeling Weiss didn't much care for it either.

_This is what humans feel every night, huh?_ She thought as she enveloped herself in the comfort of her bed sheets. _One day all Faunus will know these same luxuries. I'm sure of it._ Blake allowed herself a secret smile as the thought crossed her mind. In this way, she wasn't much different from Ruby Rose. As if on cue, she turned her head upwards to see Ruby staring at her from her own bed.

_Thank you,_ the girl mouthed silently. Blake gave her a nod of acknowledgement, before the lights dimmed and all was dark… not that that was an issue for her. As a Faunus, the darkness was her greatest ally.

Blake lay there, savouring the silence, listening as Ruby's soft snoring began to fill the room, followed by Weiss. To her great amusement, the Schnee heiress's snores were surprisingly loud, like the sound of a pig oinking. _How appropriate,_ she thought.

After an hour had passed, Blake slowly pushed the sheets off her, glancing around at her teammates. _No signs of movement._ Satisfied, she jumped down from the bed with the silent grace of a cat, tiptoeing lightly off the floor as she made her way to the bathroom.

_Even the lavatories are fancy,_ she thought with a tinge of bitterness, taking note of the sleek marble floor and the shiny porcelain sinks, toilet and bathtub. _Humans really do have the Lien and luxuries to burn, don't they?_ Blake looked into the mirror and saw her reflection staring back at her, as she neatly tore the bow from her head.

"... That's better," she sighed, allowing her feline ears to twitch freely, at least for a brief moment. She hadn't been sure if the bow would fool everybody at Beacon, but so far her cover hadn't been blown. That was encouraging, to be sure, though it did little to assuage the sheer discomfort of having her ears held in place.

Blake began to think of her friend, Ilia. The chameleon Faunus had managed to conceal herself in human society as a child, by keeping her skin-changing trait under control. By repressing a part of her identity. _And she did that for so many years,_ Blake thought. _Just two days and it's been absolute torture for me._

She pulled out her Scroll and pressed a few buttons. After a few moments of soft static, red sparks filling the screen like fire, the face of Adam Taurus appeared on the device's screen. The masked bull, who was in the midst of sharpening his blade, smiled at the sight of his partner.

"Blake. It seems the first phase of the operation was a success?" he asked.

Blake nodded. "Yes, and no one suspects a thing. I managed to become part of Team RWBY… and while I'm not her partner, I'm on the same team as Weiss Schnee herself, so monitoring her will be easier than we thought."

"Excellent. You're doing admirably, Blake," Adam said, nodding in approval.

"The other two are a pair of sisters," Blake continued, finding the words without really thinking about it. "Ruby Rose is two years younger than the rest of us, but she's a skilled Huntress in her own right. Then the older one, Yang, is my partner. She's a bit loud for my liking, but as a partner she's very reliable-"

"The others don't matter," Adam cut her off sharply, his mouth twisting into a grimace. "Your orders are to get close to the humans, but not too close. Do you remember what I told you, Blake? You can't trust them. Even if they seem friendly, when the chips are down they're as brutal and selfish as the rest of their kind. Never forget that."

"But…" she hesitated.

Adam shook his head, denying her without saying a word. "Focus on the mission. You've done well so far, but there's still work to be done. Remember what we're fighting for, Blake." He moved closer to the camera. "I will contact you when the time is right. Keep our guard up until then. Understood?"

Silently, she nodded. Her ears perked up as she caught the faint but unmistakable sounds of footsteps behind her. _Someone's coming._ "I have to go," she said quickly, turning off the Scroll and tucking it neatly away in her pocket. Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with Yang Xiao Long, who was midway through the door.

"Oh, good night, Yang," Blake said politely, shoving down her sense of panic, forcing herself to smile at the blonde girl. Yang just stared at her, dumbstruck, and she felt confused. She'd hidden away the Scroll, and she didn't think her partner was close enough to have overheard the conversation…

… and then the realization dawned on her, and she slowly turned to the mirror, her heart sinking like a stone as she beheld her reflection, where her Faunus ears were free and fully on display, in full view of Yang. _Oh, no._ Unable to even think, let alone do anything about the situation, Blake simply stared dumbly at Yang, who stared back.

"Blake," Yang gasped, blinking. "You're… you're a Faunus?"

She remained frozen. Finally, her mental functions returned to the point where she could at least think about what to do. _Should I silence her? No, no! That would be too messy, and it'd blow my cover in a second! Maybe I can bribe her for her silence. She's a human, so she'll do anything for money. Or maybe-_

"Can I touch your ears?" Her partner asked suddenly. Blake stared at her, and in her dumbfoundedness, she felt herself nod slightly. _What? No! Anything but that!_

Yang took a few steps forward, until she was uncomfortably close to her. Blake looked away in embarrassment; at this distance, the girl's sizable… assets were right below her face, only further emphasized by Yang's loose pajamas. The blonde gingerly touched her black, furry ear and began to rub it gently. Blake gnashed her teeth in protest, but to her surprise, it wasn't as unpleasant as she'd imagined.

After a few seconds, Yang retracted her hand. "... Whoa," she exclaimed, stepping away. "They're real."

"O-Of course they're real!" Blake snapped, keeping her voice low.

"Sorry, sorry," the blonde chuckled. "I just haven't gotten much chances to be up close and personal with a Faunus - let alone get partnered with one. It's kinda exciting, actually!"

Blake scowled, frantically grabbing her bow and covering her Faunus ears once more. "Don't talk like we're specimens for you to gawk at," she replied, more harshly than she'd intended. "You probably know why I wear this thing, right?"

Her partner's gaze turned serious, and she looked down at the floor. "... Oh. Right," she murmured. "I'm sorry. You've probably… been through a lot, huh?"

"That's none of your business," Blake said. "But you probably want to know about it, don't you? Do you expect me to tell you my whole life's story for your sympathy?"

"No, not really." Yang's terse, honest reply took her aback, and she stared at the girl in surprise.

Yang smiled solemnly at her. "If you're not ready to talk to me about it, I'm not gonna force you. Maybe later, once we know each other better, we can have a chat. We're partners, remember? We've got time."

For one silly moment, Blake considered telling her everything: about who she really was, her position in the White Fang, and the real reason she'd come to Beacon. She wanted to pour her heart out to this girl, whom she barely knew. Could it be she'd been waiting her whole life to open up to someone?

But the moment passed, and she shook her head. _I can't tell her the truth. Not right now. I have a purpose to fulfill._ "You can't tell anyone," Blake said firmly. "Not even your sister."

"Got it," Yang replied, nodding at her with a smile. "It's a promise, okay?"

As quietly as possible, the pair made their way back into their beds, and silently bid each other goodnight. As Blake lay beneath her sheets, she thought about how her precious cover had already been compromised. She was supposed to be angry, and especially scared, but she realized that she actually didn't mind it at all.

From above her, she could hear Yang's loud snores, and found herself smiling. _Maybe I'll ask her out for training tomorrow, or some day after that._ If the girl did indeed keep her secret, it was the least Blake could do to thank her.

She knew she shouldn't be doing this. Adam's words still lingered in her head, telling her to trust no one, to not get too attached to the humans. But the thought of it made her happy. It made her feel very happy indeed.

* * *

**RUBY**

The history books would show that Ruby Rose's first order as leader of Team RWBY was to claim ownership of all the strawberries and chocolate chip cookies in Beacon Academy's cafeteria. Her teammates, with varying degrees of reluctance, had all agreed to not touch any of the aforementioned delicacies at tomorrow's breakfast. Ruby looked forward to it with great eagerness.

When she woke up the next day, however, she was nearly blinded by the bright rays of light seeping in through the window. Groaning and rubbing her eyes in pain, Ruby opened the curtains to find the sun already high up in the sky. "Oh, no!" she yelled, waking up Yang on the other side of the room. "W-we're gonna be late!"

"Our first class isn't for another hour," Blake said helpfully. She was sitting in her bed, already fully dressed, and absorbed in a book. "Take your time."

Ruby leapt down from the bed, and saw that Weiss' bunk was missing its owner. It had been tidied up and organized neatly, like a vacant hotel bed. _Uh-oh. Guess she got tired of waiting for us,_ she thought nervously. "Come on," she said to Blake and Yang, hoping that she sounded forceful. "Let's go."

After quickly getting changed, Ruby dashed out the room with her teammates in tow. As they ran down the hallway, several students paused to look at them, seeing the short, youthful girl leading the charge, and the leader's badge pinned to her chest. She thought she heard whispers, and a few snickers as they faded into the distance.

_Don't let it get to you._ Ruby told herself that, but still felt her cheeks flush red as she ran.

The cafeteria was already quite busy at that time of day, with a large line blockading the food stations, and most of the tables already filled with students. Ruby made out a thick crowd of people gathered around Weiss Schnee, who sat alone while eating a crepe. They were greeting her, complimenting her, trying to touch her, but white-haired girl was paying none of them any mind.

Ruby got in line with Blake and Yang, and after what felt like an eternity, she made her way to the tables, her tray loaded with some eggs, toast, and a mountain of cookies and strawberries, attracting some bewildered looks from passerby. She went over to Weiss, who seemed to have silently fended off her harassers.

"... Hi," Ruby muttered, sitting down next to her partner. Weiss glanced at her, and without saying a word, moved herself onto the seat beside her. After a moment's thought, she shifted a bit further, until she was no longer within an arm's distance of her.

Ruby scowled. "Umm… what are you doing?"

"Keeping a distance," Weiss replied, swallowing a piece of her crepe. "It decreases the risk of being associated with you."

Ruby glanced down at her tray, at her treasure trove of snacks, and suddenly found that she wasn't as hungry as she'd thought. "... I guess that's good for both of us," she finally said, taking a large swig of milk. Streams of it slipped through her lips and down her uniform, earning her a look of disgust from Weiss.

"Hey, hey! You saved us some spots!" Yang's voice surprised them both, and they turned to see her approaching the two empty seats between them, with Blake shortly behind her. "Thanks for that!" The two quickly made themselves comfortable, and Weiss turned to her right in desperation, only to realize she was at the very end of the table. With a deep sigh, the heiress resigned herself to her fate.

Other people were now approaching their table, and Ruby recognized the members of Team JNPR: a smiling Jaune nodding at her with Pyrrha at his side, and Ren and Nora following them. "It's morning, it's morning!" Nora was singing, dancing around with her tray filled to the brim with pancakes, somehow not spilling as she tossed it up in the air. "Oh, I bet the cooking here's great! Not as good as yours though, Ren." Her partner said nothing. but he smiled.

The other team seated themselves on the other side of the table. "Pyrrha! It's so good to see you!" Weiss exclaimed, suddenly coming to life as she smiled at the redhead. "What do you say we doing some training after class today? I think we'd have a lot to talk about."

Pyrrha nodded, her smile as radiant as ever. "Hello again, Weiss! And yes, that would be lovely, thank you."

"Ooooh, this is getting interesting!" Nora laughed, letting out a huge belch. "Could this be the start of a beautiful relationship?" Ren gave her a gentle nudge, and she promptly shut up. Weiss just looked away, her jubilance completely ruined.

At that moment, Ruby noticed that Jaune wasn't joining them, but was instead going over to an empty table on the other side of the room. "What's the matter, Jaune?" she asked. "C'mon, join us. Shouldn't you be eating with your team?"

"Oh no, I'm fine," Jaune chuckled nervously. Clearly, he'd hoped he wouldn't be seen. He cast an anxious glance over the other students, all of whom were staring at him with scrutiny. "It's just, uh… oh, right! I didn't expect there to be so many girls around here. Yeah, that's it, haha. I don't think my parents would approve of all the girls…"

"Well, I sure do!" Yang laughed, suddenly wrapping her arms around Blake and Weiss, holding them tightly. "Isn't that right, ladies?"

"Get off me, you tramp!" Weiss snapped, forcefully wrestling free of her grasp. Blake just ignored the blonde, her focus entirely captured by her tuna sandwich.

_Is that seriously his reason?_ Ruby thought as she watched Jaune walk away in a hurry. Pyrrha Nikos was also watching him go, a disappointed look on her face. _He sounded like he just made that up on the spot._

"So guys," Yang was saying to her old friends, "what classes do you have today? Hopefully we'll be sharing a few!"

"All I know is we're gonna be beating up some Grimm later today!" Nora laughed, smashing her fists together.

"She means we're having Grimm Studies class at two-thirty," Ren said, speaking for the first time. His voice was as soft and serene as his appearance suggested. "We have history at ten, and then weapon construction around noon."

Yang's face fell. "Aw, damn. Maybe next day, then. We've got our first class in, uh..." she looked at her watch. "Ack! C'mon guys, we've got ten minutes before it starts! Pack it up, let's go, go, go!" Shovelling the rest of her omelette in her mouth, she got up and ran for the door. Ruby, Weiss and Blake followed her in a rush.

"See ya guys later!" Nora waved at them, her mouth stuffed with pancakes.

"Those two seem nice," Ruby said to Yang as they headed to Professor Tukson's classroom. "They're your buddies from Signal, right? I kinda wish I knew them."

Yang laughed." You did. I hung out with them after class all the time, remember? One time I even brought them home for a party. Dad was _not_ happy about that one…"

"I, uh, never really paid attention," she admitted. "And… I think I locked myself in the bedroom that day."

"Oh yeah, I remember that! I had to blast down the door to get you out. Dad wasn't very happy about that, either…"

They reached the classroom and, with Weiss's insistence, seated themselves in the front row. Professor Tukson, a large, imposing man with dark, graying hair and sideburns, was poring over some books at his desk. The room smelled of paint and freshly printed paper, which made Ruby's nose itch.

"Uh, by the way," she muttered to her teammates. "What's this class for, again? I forgot…"

Weiss let out a deep, condescending sigh. "Huntsman Law, Ruby. Where we learn about what we can and can't do, and what role we can play in the legal world."

"Huh? What?" she blurted out. "I didn't sign up for something like that!"

"Of course you didn't," Weiss snapped. "I did. And since we're on the same team, that means we all have to take the same classes as each other. The world doesn't just revolve around _your_ desires, you know."

_That's ironic, coming from you._ Ruby opened her mouth to retort, but then the professor cleared his throat, signalling the beginning of the first period, and she fell silent, electing to just stare glumly at her empty notebook.

The lecture turned out to be every bit as boring as she thought. With every word that Professor Tukson spoke, every strange term or phrase that meant absolutely nothing to her, his voice seemed to fade further and further into the void as she spaced out. _How long is this thing gonna last?_ Ruby thought despairingly.

She glanced at her teammates: Yang looked about ready to fall asleep. Blake's expression was unreadable, though her eyes were fixated on the teacher. In sharp contrast, Weiss sat up firmly, utterly invested in whatever the heck he was saying.

_Might as well make use of the time, I guess._ Yawning, Ruby opened her notebook to the first page and began scribbling in it. She wrote some notes about her favourite Grimm-slaying techniques, as well as possible ideas for Crescent Rose upgrades, many of which she drew doodles of. She marked each of them with labels such as ' _dad said no'_ and ' _find a death ray cannon'._

Eventually, however, her notes devolved into sketches of some of her favourite heroes, legends from history and folklore alike. A man who transformed into a savage beast when angered, a warrior king wielding an enchanted blade, a masked Huntress known as the Grimm Reaper… Ruby poured her heart and soul into them, dreaming of the tales that would be told about her someday.

"Young lady!" Snapping back to reality, she looked up to see Tukson's frowning face directly above her. Too late, she remembered that she was sitting in the front row, not even bothering to hide what she was doing. "You seem to be keeping yourself busy. Please, let us see what you've written so far."

Helplessly, Ruby gave him the notebook. The professor flipped through the pages, his scowl deepening as he read through them. "Hmmph. And what your name be, miss…?"

"R-Ruby," she stammered. "Ruby Rose."

"Well, you appear to be very studious, Miss Rose." To her horror, Tukson opened the notebook and displayed it to the students in the lower rows. In truth, her beloved drawings were little more than crudely-scribbled stick figures. Quite a few people burst into raucous laughter, and Ruby could feel Weiss's piercing glare from beside her.

"And since you've been working so diligently," the professor continued, "I think it's fair to reward you with a little pop quiz. So tell me, Miss Rose," he said, his eyes boring into hers. "Please tell us what role a Huntsman plays in the courtroom."

Ruby searched her mind frantically, but of course the Huntsman Law section of her brain was nothing but an empty blur. Beside her, Weiss was practically leaping out of her seat as she raised her hand, but the professor ignored her.

"U-um," she muttered, trying to recall what little she knew about law and the courts. "They, uh, talk to the audience about what they saw. And they, um, arrest the bad guys?"

More laughter rang through the room, and Ruby lowered her head in embarrassment. "A fully qualified Huntsman can take on any role in the court process," Tukson said. "Whether that role be the defense, the prosecution, or the presiding judge, though they are not granted any special privileges over those officially in the position."

He shook his head and sighed. "You'll need to remember these lessons, so it seems I must provide some extra incentive. As punishment for your negligence, I'm deducting two marks from your team's first assignment."

" _What?!"_ Weiss stood up, outraged. "You can't do that! It's _her_ fault for not paying attention! Not mine!"

"You're part of her team. A team should share every member's rewards… and their punishments. Let this be a lesson to all of you." Professor Tukson cast a stern gaze around the room. "Class is dismissed! Be sure to hand in your homework by Friday."

At that moment the bell rang, and Weiss stormed out of the room with a huff. Blake and Yang both cast concerned glances at Ruby, who simply packed in silence and left with her head hung low. She did her best not to look at anyone, but she was pretty sure they were looking at her.

Lunch was a miserable affair. They didn't share the period with Team JNPR that day, so the four of them sat alone and in silence. The tension between Ruby and Weiss was palpable as they both ate quietly, neither of them even turning to look at the other.

"So, umm… that wasn't a great first impression!" Yang exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood. "But I'm sure things are gonna get better soon. Right, guys?" Her words were met with resounding silence, and eventually she returned to her burger, defeated. Nothing else was spoken for the rest of the meal.

Their next class was Combat Training, and the thought of it lifted Ruby's spirits a little. Now fighting, that was her forte. She could hardly wait to show the teacher what she was made of, impress her peers with her stylish combat moves, and maybe even earn just the tiniest morsel of respect from Weiss.

The professor for the course turned out to be Glynda Goodwitch herself, who was in the middle of coaching two students that were dueling on the stage. "No, no, you're putting too much force into it," she said sternly, adjusting the posture of a ginger-haired boy with a mace. "You'll have to temper your brute strength, Mr. Winchester, or your enemy will easily knock you over."

"Ooh, looks like we're gonna get a demonstration," Yang said cheerfully as the team took their seats. "Think we'll get a chance to show off our guns, sis?"

"I sure hope so," Ruby replied, her heart pumping with excitement.

Professor Goodwitch swung her riding crop, and a loud _crack_ reverberated throughout the classroom. All the chatting students fell silent. "Welcome to your first combat training class, everyone," she said, she voice as sharp and commanding as ever. "Now I'm sure you're all thinking to yourselves that you've done combat training before, at your old academies. But whatever you learned there, it won't do you any good here at Beacon, let alone out there in the field."

The professor pushed up her glasses, and a bright glint of light reflected off their surface. "As far as I'm concerned all of you are just greenhorns. Don't expect a single shred of mercy." There were several nervous laughs as she said that, though a few people whistled as though they were excited by the prospect.

"These two young gentlemen have volunteered to give us a display of their prowess," Goodwitch continued, "since they believe they already have what it takes to be master Huntsmen. So, Mr. Winchester, Mr. Thrush." She gestured to the two boys, who were facing each other with big, confident grins on their faces. "Please show the class what you're made of."

Ruby watched the boys fight each other, as Winchester swung his mace wildly while shouting like a madman. Thrush, a pale, skinny youth wielding twin blades, deflected his attacks with sharp, nimble novements. The sounds of steel clashing rang through the room as the larger boy pushed his opponent back. People in the audience were beginning to cheer, as though it were a tournament match.

_They're both good,_ Ruby thought. At an illustrious school like Beacon, it was inevitable that she'd find countless other talented fighters who were worthy of being mankind's protectors. She wondered if she'd ever match up to them. _I will. Maybe not now, but one day I'll be the best of them all._

Finally, Winchester knocked both of Thrush's swords away with a hefty swing of his mace, disarming him. The audience erupted into cheers as the boy raised his arms to the onlookers, bursting into hearty laughter.

"What you just witnessed," Goodwitch said, walking over to them and cracking her crop, "is what will get you killed on your first day of the job." She whipped Winchester's arm, and he let out a cry of pain. "Once again, you put too much force into your swing, and left yourself wide-open for a counterattack."

"As for you, young man," she continued, forcefully pulling Thrush to his feet and twisting his arms into place. "Your form is entirely unfocused, and any half-brained bandit could disarm you in an instant. If you can't discipline yourself, the Grimm will tear you limb from limb."

The professor walked away from the dumbfounded boys and cast a withering glare at the other students. "You all seemed quite impressed by that sorry showing, hmm? By the time you graduate from this academy, I'll make certain you won't find anything impressive anymore. My goal is to make it so that nothing surprises you - that way, you'll be prepared for anything."

Ruby leaned over to Weiss. "I'll be surprised the day Yang turns down a drink," she whispered. To her amazement, the heiress actually smiled, and let out a laugh - just a tiny chuckle, but she heard it. _Yes!_ She thought. This could finally be where their partnership took a turn for the better.

"What was that?" As it turned out, someone else had heard the girl laugh. Glynda Goodwitch stormed over to their table, her eyes glaring daggers at Weiss. "Did you find something funny, young lady?"

"N-no!" Weiss stammered, pointing at Ruby. "I mean, it was her! It was what she said! I mean, she's the one who…"

The professor sighed. "Seems like both of you need some disciplining. Come on down, you two. You'll be my next volunteers." Ruby and Weiss stared at each other in horrified silence, earning themselves a crack of Goodwitch's crop. "Come _now_!" And so they did.

Ruby held her head down as they walked down the stairs, past the rows of face. "Go get 'em, sis!" she heard Yang yell, which really didn't make her feel better in the slightest.

Using her Semblance of telekinesis, Goodwitch lifted the drapes off an object on the stage, revealing a large android wielding a cannon-mounted glaive. "I think you will quite appreciate this one, Miss Schnee," she said. "Your family provided some of their prototypes for our use. Unfortunately, it is not programmed to go easy on you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," the heiress replied confidently.

The android whirred to life, raising its weapon as it faced the two girls. "Don't hold me back," Weiss told Ruby, adjusting the chambers on Myrtenaster.

_Like I would!_ Gritting her teeth, Ruby charged straight at the robot with Crescent Rose, feeling a pang of dismay as it easily blocked her strike with its glaive. It met her blow for blow, and her large, cumbersome scythe was quickly overwhelmed by the faster weapon's attacks. _Damn!_ Desperate, she leapt back with her Semblance.

She felt something fly by her head, as several ice Dust crystals struck the android's head and body, causing it to stagger. Ruby looked back to see Weiss with her weapon raised, surrounded by active glyphs. "You could've hit me!" she yelled.

"But I didn't!" Weiss retorted. "Stop talking and pay attention!" The girl ran towards the now-recovered android, striking and dodging its attacks with her nimble, graceful movements, but nothing seemed to break through the robot's shell - whatever material it was made of was some sturdy stuff.

Eventually, she was driven back as well. "We need to work together!" Ruby yelled at her.

Reluctantly, Weiss nodded, and with a flourish she summoned several glyphs around the android - one in front of it, and a few above. "They'll increase your movement and throw you around!" she explained. "Use them to get around it and strike its weak spots!"

_Increased movement, huh?_ Ruby glanced at the one glyph on the floor, and smiled. _That's the only one I need._ Using her Semblance, she flew onto the glyph, and was promptly catapulted towards the android at full speed. She felt a sudden rush of exhilaration… and then the crushing pain as the robot's glaive took her in the chest, sending her flying back-first onto the ground, her weapon clattering out of her hands.

"What are you _doing?!_ " Weiss screamed, as the android turned toward the now-helpless Ruby, who stared at it helplessly. With her hands empty, all she could do was stare at her opponent, her body frozen in fear. But she noticed that as it raised its cannon towards her, it had turned its attention away from Weiss, leaving itself exposed…

_Go! Do it now!_ She wanted to yell, but the pain trapped those words in her throat. She watched as Weiss turned to the android, also noticing the opportunity, and then back to her partner. Finally, as her face scrunched up into the expression of one who had just swallowed a bitter pill, she ran to shield Ruby from the blast.

The explosion rang in Ruby's ears as they both went flying, her entire body wracked with pain as they landed. _Ow, ow, ow…_ She glanced at Weiss, whose immaculate white dress was covered in ash. _I'm getting a weird case of deja vu…_

A loud whistle rang out as Goodwitch arrived on the stage, deactivating the robot with the flick of a remote. "... I think that display speaks for itself," she said simply. "You all have your work cut out for you, and I intend to see you get it done."

Somehow, Ruby had ended up back at her desk, though she couldn't for the life of her recall how she got there. She also didn't remember anything else that happened that class, only that Weiss refused to acknowledge her presence, and Blake and Yang routinely nudged her unmoving form, to make sure she was still alive.

She'd never been so relieved to hear the end-of-period bell ring. "Next class you will all spar against one another - alone, or in pairs," Goodwitch declared. "However, I'd highly encourage you to pair up, as otherwise, there's a possibility of you fighting one against two." She gave them the first smile she'd shown all class. "Does that sound unfair? Well, so is the world of Remnant. You will have to, as the kids say, 'suck it up'."

Team RWBY made their way down the hall, and as they passed by a bathroom, Weiss abruptly turned away from them and went in, slamming the door behind her.

"Ummm… I think I should go in with her," Ruby muttered, nodding to her other teammates. "I'm gonna try to make things right."

Yang gave her a pained smile. "Got it. We'll go on ahead." She gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry. No matter what, you'll always be the best in my heart!"

"... Good luck." Blake flashed her a genuine look of concern as she followed her partner towards the dorm.

Sighing, Ruby entered the bathroom and found Weiss cleaning the ash off her dress, her scowl deepening as she saw the other girl appear in the mirror. "What do you want?" the heiress snapped.

"Look, I'm sorry," Ruby muttered, not able to meet her partner's eyes. "I know I'm not the best leader, but I'm really trying, and-"

"I don't want your apology," Weiss replied coldly. "I want to be the leader. I want _that._ " She nodded towards the badge on Ruby's chest.

"What, that's all you care about?!" Blind anger rose in Ruby's chest as she glared at Weiss. Had she ever met a more stuck-up, selfish, arrogant person in her entire life? "What makes you think you'd a great leader, anyway? You're not even the strongest person on our team!"

"The fact that you think like that is exactly why you're _not_ fit to be leader!" the heiress shouted. "You think strength is all that matters? The important part of being a leader is representing your team! No one ever looks at subordinates, second-in-commands, no, their attention is on the person at the top." She raised her chin, and her expression was like that of a queen. "A true leader doesn't just act for themselves, but for everyone. I'm going to be head of the SDC one day, and I've been training for it my whole life. I know what being a leader is like, more than most people my age.

"But you?" Weiss gave Ruby the most withering glare she'd ever seen. "All you do is mess around. You're utterly incompetent. And people see that. And when they see that you're our leader, they see the rest of us as incompetent, too. What's the value in a leader who does nothing but make the entire company look bad, hmm? You tell me."

Ruby opened her mouth, but no words came out. For a moment, it felt as though she'd forgotten how to talk entirely.

"... That's what I thought," Weiss murmured. There was no smug satisfaction in the look she gave Ruby, only anger, disappointment, and a terrible drop of pity. Cleaning the last speck of grey off her dress, she walked past her partner and exited the bathroom, not saying another word.

For an eternity, Ruby stood there, her fists clenched and shaking. Finally, with all the strength she could muster, she slowly walked over to the trash can. With a great effort, she tore off her leader's badge, nearly ripping part of her cape in the process. Unable to control herself, she shouted at the top of her lungs, and threw the badge. She heard a sharp _clang,_ loud as a bullet, as it struck the bottom of the container.

"There you go," Ruby said, to nobody. "Fish it out of there if you want it." And then she left.


	8. The Mirror Crack'd

**Chapter 4: The Mirror Crack'd**

**YANG**

Her sister was upset. That was a problem.

Yang was no stranger to seeing Ruby in distress; as a young girl, her little sister would curl up into a ball and started bawling whenever she or her father had refused to give her more cookies or let her stay up past her bedtime. And even now, all it took was a little bit of teasing to throw the girl into an angry fit, usually with a lot of punching and kicking involved. It was just a normal part of the Rose-Xiao Long lifestyle.

But this was different. Ruby's bursts of anger and distress were always just that - bursts. A few seconds would pass and suddenly, she'd be back to normal, and the only indication that she'd even been angry in the first place was the sharp ringing she left in your ears.

When Ruby was utterly silent, though, like how she looked entering Team RWBY's dormitory after that disastrous combat training class, that was when you knew she was _upset._

Yang immediately knew what had caused her sister to enter such a state. She cast an angry scowl at Weiss, who was softly humming to herself as she worked on her homework, not even turning to look at her partner.

 _What the hell did she say to her?_ Yang thought. _It must have been pretty awful to make Sis look like that._

Blake also looked at the younger girl with visible concern - enough so that her eyes popped up above her copy of _Shinobi Heartthrob_ when Ruby walked in. The dark-haired girl exchanged a look with her partner, and Yang shook her head sadly.

 _I'll just talk to her,_ she thought.

Eventually, once night had fallen, Weiss had to go use the restroom, leaving the others free to talk amongst themselves. "Hey, hey, Sis!" Yang leapt off her bed and launched herself across the room, landing leading on Ruby's bunk. "Talk to me, sis. You're okay, right? Whatever Weiss said, you can't let it get to you."

"She's a Schnee," Blake added. "You can't put much stock into anything a Schnee says. That family is the worst of the worst. They lie about everything and do whatever it takes to put other people down."

"W-Well, maybe let's not take it that far," Yang said, surprised by the sudden venom in her partner's voice. She glanced over to see Blake's eyes narrowed like that of a predator. A chill ran through her spine - she hadn't realized the quiet girl could be so… scary.

 _Well, she's a Faunus,_ she reminded herself. The less-than-friendly relationship between the Schnee Dust Company and the Faunus was common knowledge to practically every soul in Remnant. From all the constant protests by the White Fang or more peaceful activist groups, to the whistleblowers reporting the nightmarish working conditions Faunus were subject to… it was a bad scene all around.

Still, even Weiss couldn't be that bad, right? The girl was a grade-A bitch, that was for sure, but she sure as hell didn't seem evil, at least. Though the fact that 'not evil' was the best thing Yang could say about the heiress at the moment certainly said a lot about her reputation among the team.

"She… just said that I'm not worthy of being a leader," Ruby finally spoke, her voice almost inaudible as she sniffled, brushing away a strand of snot from her nose. "A-and… she was right."

"No, she's not!" Yang protested. "I think you're a great leader, Sis!"

"Am I?" Ruby put her head in her hands. "But I've never had any experience leading. I've never been good at making people do what I say. Plus, I'm younger than you guys, anyway, so why would you want to follow me?"

Yang opened her mouth to respond, but her sister continued without pause. "Weiss is gonna be the president of the SDC one day. She's… she's a born leader. Maybe… Ozpin _did_ make a mistake."

Tears were falling from Ruby's eyes now. "That's possible, right? Like, maybe he accidentally said the wrong name during the ceremony and then was too embarrassed to correct himself? That would explain how this happened."

 _Oh no. Now she's getting hysterical._ Yang had seen this sort of behaviour before, too, so she gently knelt down and patted her sister on the head reassuringly. After a few seconds, Ruby's sniffles stopped.

When she raised her head, for a moment Yang saw a much younger girl, more weak and vulnerable. Someone who needed to be protected. But her eyes told a different story. They shone brightly, like two silver gemstones, and Yang knew that even now her sister hadn't given up on herself.

 _You've got a lot of fight in you, Ruby - more than you know,_ she thought proudly. _Maybe even more than me._

"Listen, Sis," she said. "I don't care whether it was a mistake or not - cuz to me, it wasn't a mistake. No matter what, I believe in you! You're the only leader _I'd_ ever follow." Yang winked. "And trust me one hundred percent on this - you're doing a better job than I _ever_ would as a leader."

To her relief, Ruby finally smiled. "Hehe… well, that goes without saying," she chuckled.

At that moment, Weiss came out of the bathroom, and in a flash Yang did a somersault back onto her own bed, Blake's attention returned to her book, and Ruby covered her face with her hood.

The heiress glanced around the scene with her now-signature scowl. "... What exactly is happening here?" she asked icily. "Were you all talking about me behind my back?"

" _No!_ " all of them replied in unison.

Weiss sighed, clearly not convinced in the slightest, but didn't probe any further. Yang assumed the petty mumblings of lowly peasants were just too beneath her, or something.

That night, Yang found it hard for her to sleep. She couldn't really say why, but after an hour had passed she was still staring up at the ceiling, feeling the chilly air around her, not tired in the slightest.

She wasn't afraid of the dark. She had been, once upon a time - so afraid, in fact, that her father had to personally tuck her in bed every night and only shut off the lights once her eyes were already closed.

But then Ruby had been born, and it was soon afterward that their father had… shut down, leaving Yang to care for her sister alone. And for some reason, baby Ruby just wouldn't stop crying unless she was in total darkness. For her sister's happiness, Yang had learned to face her fears and brave the dark, and soon she didn't fear it at all.

That was just one of the many things for which she was grateful to her sister.

Yang squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force herself to sleep, but to no avail. "Damn it," she muttered out loud. "I hate this."

"It's an annoying feeling, isn't it?" Someone responded from directly below her. _Blake._

Yang lowered her head down the side of her bunk, seeing her partner sitting cross-legged on her own bed, still reading in the darkness. _One of the benefits of being a Faunus, huh?_ she thought, remembering that they were supposed to have incredible eyesight and night vision.

"I get bouts of insomnia myself sometimes, when I'm worried," Blake said softly. "That must be what's happening with you, right? You're worried about your sister."

"I guess that must be it," Yang said. It did make sense; she could tell that Ruby was still hurting inside, and the thought bothered her immensely. "Say… do you have any siblings?"

"No," Blake said immediately.

Yang stared curiously at her partner, ignoring the blood that was now rushing to her head as she continued to hang upside-down. She wanted to know more about Blake, this mysterious girl who didn't like talking about her past, who feared discrimination so much she'd tried to hide her own Faunus trait.

She'd promised she wouldn't inquire about Blake's past until she was okay with it, but Yang still wanted to get to know her better, especially since they were gonna be working together for the next four years. And she knew just what to do.

"Hey Blake, I was wondering…" she said. "We've got a free period tomorrow. You wanna do some sparring? Figured it might be a good chance to get used to each other's fighting styles! Whaddya say?"

For a moment, Blake was silent. _Well, she does seem like the type who just wants to be left alone,_ Yang thought, feeling a bit chilly from the cold reception. "Um, but if you don't, then that's-"

"No, I'd be happy to," Blake said, and smiled. Yang was awestruck; the girl was already quite pretty, but she was outright beautiful when she had a smile on her face. "Actually, I was planning to ask you, eventually."

"Well, good thing one of us decided to take the initiative," Yang chuckled. "Alright then, it's settled. You, me. Tomorrow at three." She grinned. "Hey, that was a pretty cool rhyme."

"It was alright," Blake replied.

Smiling, Yang threw herself back onto her bed and covered herself with the sheets. It still took a little while, but she finally managed to fall asleep, and drifted off into a blissful, dreamless slumber.

She was woken from her bliss by an obnoxious, shrill screech, loud enough to make her eardrums bleed. "GRAAAAHHHHH!" she screamed, leaping up and assuming a battle stance.

"Calm down," Weiss Schnee grumbled from below, a silver-plated whistle in her hand. "You're gonna wake up the entire school with that loud noise."

_Me?! Who just made it sound like the goddamn apocalypse was going down in here?_

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked indignantly, groggily getting up from her sleep. Blake was angrily rubbing her Faunus ears - well, her bow - clearly more affected by the sound than the others, but thankfully no one seemed to notice.

"Since Ruby is clearly unfit to be leader, I'm assuming all duties until further notice," the heiress replied. "And I've decided some ground rules need to be set. First order of business: everyone wakes up at the crack of six - no exceptions!"

" _Six?!_ " Yang said incredulously. "Are you completely insane?"

"On the contrary, I'm the most reasonable one here. Discipline is one of the key attributes of a Huntress, and punctuality is a key part of that." She shook the whistle in her hand. "Anyone who fails to meet this requirement will be dealt with appropriately."

 _I think she's lost it,_ Yang thought. _It's kinda impressive. Five seconds after taking power and she's already gone bonkers._

Too tired to defy Weiss or even make a snarky remark, Yang and the others went along with it and got changed - though by her orders, they were each only allowed five minutes total to shower, brush their teeth, and put on their uniform. Then they marched out into the hallway in single formation, which Yang decided was the most embarrassing thing she'd ever done.

"And another rule," Weiss decided as they stood back-to-back in the cafeteria line. "Another crucial aspect of a Huntress's life is a healthy, balanced diet. That means no chocolate milk, no cookies, and no overloading your plate with bacon."

" _What?_ " Ruby yelled.

" _WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"_ Yang yelled. _Oh that's it, bitch. Now you've_ really _crossed a line!_

Once Weiss was done, it was her turn to get her food. Looking back to make sure the heiress wasn't looking, Yang stealthily grabbed a chocolate-chip cookie from the stand and slipped it to her sister. "My treat," she whispered, and Ruby smiled in thanks.

As it turned out, they were so early that Team JNPR weren't up yet, which greatly soured Yang's mood. She so greatly wanted to chat with Ren and Nora about their experiences at Beacon, and maybe get to know Jaune and Pyrrha a bit better, but if Weiss had her way those opportunities would be few and far between.

Sighing in frustration, she picked up her omelette with her bare hands and shoved the entire thing into her mouth, earning herself a look of disgust from the heiress.

The moment they were done, Weiss clapped her hands together like some hotshot military sergeant and ordered them to march to their first class for the day - which wouldn't be for another hour. Something about being early earning you extra points with the teacher, but no one else seemed to care.

The rest of the school day was a blur. They had military strategy with Professor Port, a flamboyant old man who told stories of his former escapades with mustachioed bravado. Then after lunch they'd spent the afternoon learning the history of Remnant from the overly enthusiastic Professor Oobleck, whose mouth seemed to be either talking, breathing air, or consuming coffee at all times.

Normally, these things would be of some interest to Yang, but she'd begun today in a bad mood, and whenever that happened it tended to persist throughout the whole day. All she looked forward to was that free period, where she could get away from Weiss for just a few blissful hours.

She dreaded that somehow the heiress would come up with some bullshit rule to ruin even that small pleasure, but thankfully Weiss let them do as they pleased. "As long as you don't do anything stupid," she'd added, her eyes fixated on Yang.

And so Yang made her way to the training fields outside the academy building, where she found Blake sitting in the shade of a tree, fixated on - what else? - her book. "Hey, hey, I said I wanted to spar, not do a group study," she said jokingly.

"That's a shame," Blake replied, smiling as she rose. "Let's go a few rounds, shall we?"

She came at Yang with Gambol Shroud, taking advantage of her greater agility to leap around the stronger Huntress's attacks. Yang cocked Ember Celica and began firing at her, but her blasts were too slow, and Blake avoided them easily. One of the blasts struck the tree she'd been sitting under, busting it open.

 _Uh-oh,_ Yang thought. _I hope that doesn't count as property damage._

Blake combined her blades into the grappling hook, throwing the ribbon and latching onto Yang's left arm. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed onto it and pulled Blake towards her, within range of her gauntlets. Blake retracted her ribbon and met her strikes blow for blow, her attacks cutting through bits of her Aura.

Taking a gamble, Yang fired off a shot at point blank. The blast knocked both her Blake backwards, but she was prepared for it, and shrugged off the pain as she managed to land without falling over. Impressively, Blake managed to reorient herself and also land on her feet.

 _Just like a cat,_ Yang thought, and immediately felt bad. _Wait. I think that might be racist._

However, Blake was clearly still recovering from her last attack, judging by how she staggered as she moved towards her.

Invigorated, Yang yelled as she activated her Semblance, feeling a rush of energy rising up inside her as she radiated golden light. She fired several more shots, and Blake darted away from them with quick, lithe movements. One shell seemed to make contact, but it quickly phased through the Faunus's shadow clone, revealing the real Blake a few feet away - directly in Yang's line of sight.

 _Perfect._ Yang leapt up with all her strength, raising her arm above her head as she prepared to land the decisive strike. Without moving, or even blinking, Blake stepped a little to the side and raised her katana, waiting to meet her.

Yang realized her mistake just in time, forcing herself to land early. As her feet hit the ground, she saw clouds of dirt fly up nearby, scattering a flock of birds into the sky. And she felt a sharp, cold sensation, as the sharp edge of Blake's weapon lay against her elbow. The dark-haired girl smiled at her.

"I think we're done here," Blake said.

"I guess so," Yang said, laughing nervously as she pulled herself away.

"You really do fight well," Blake remarked, sheathing Gambol Shroud and placing it on her back. "Who taught you your style?"

"My dad, mostly," Yang replied. "He trained me and my sis both. Well, mostly me. What about you? Did your parents train you, too?"

"No, I learned to fight from… my partner," she said after a short pause. "He taught me to use a blade, and showed me how I could protect myself in this world. I owe him a lot."

"Interesting!" Yang grinned. "I think I'm starting to know a lot more about you, Blake."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, like you said, I'm damn good at fighting, and when you fight a lot you start to notice things. For one thing, you get to learn more about people just from their fighting style."

Blake raised her eyebrows. "That's… a new concept. Well then, based on our match just now, what kind of person am I?"

Yang stopped to think. "Hmmm… well, judging from your attack patterns, and the speed of your movements, I'd say you're the type who fights alone."

"Hmph. I guess you're not as good as you think," Blake said, looking disappointed. "I know I seem like a loner, but many of the battles I've fought, I've done it with my friends."

"No, no, I'm not talking about that. I mean you have a tendency to do things your own way, even if people disagree, or order you to something else. You don't like relying on other people's judgements. Heh, it's a pretty metal way to live." She grinned at her partner's shocked expression. "Buuut… it wouldn't hurt for you to lean on others once in a while. Just some friendly advice."

"I'm… impressed," Blake admitted. "You really got all that just from my movements?"

"Parts of it, anyway," Yang said. "Really, it's more of a gut instinct thing."

"So you're saying you were just guessing?"

"If you wanna think of it that way, sure." Grinning, Yang pointed to herself. "Well, how 'bout you try? After that fight, what can you say about me?"

Blake let out a soft laugh. "Well… you seem like the sort of person who punches, shoots and brawls their way out of all their problems. Completely reckless… and with a lack of respect for the local scenery, to boot."

"See? You're already getting the hang of it!" Yang laughed.

They went for a few more rounds, with Yang winning the next, then Blake, then another ending in a draw, and then so on, so forth. Once they were both utterly exhausted, and the sun was beginning to set, they made their way back to the dormitory.

"Well, based on your assessment of me, I think I should try changing things up," Blake said. "So for our combat class tomorrow, you don't mind pairing up with me, right?"

"Heh. You didn't even need to ask," Yang said, happily cracking her aching knuckles.

They found Ruby in their room, loudly playing video games on the TV and munching on a plate of cookies. Weiss wasn't anywhere to be seen. Yang didn't know where the Schnee girl could be, and she honestly didn't care.

"Hey, Ruby!" she greeted her sister as they entered. Immediately, Ruby put down her controller and ran over excitedly to Yang.

"Sis, sis!" Ruby said. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Well… you're gonna," Yang replied. _What's this about?_

"Uh, well, Weiss said… she said she didn't want to pair up with me for the combat lesson tomorrow." Ruby's head slumped downward, and she looked miserable. "I don't want to fight alone, so I was wondering…" She raised her head expectantly. "Is it ok for you to be my partner, sis? Just for one day."

Yang froze. Slowly, she turned to look at Blake, who stared back with a look of equal discomfort.

"Right," Yang said. "About that…"

* * *

**WEISS**

"I'm afraid there's no way I can allow you to see Professor Ozpin at this time of day," Glynda Goodwitch said sternly, pushing up her glasses. "Now run along back to your dorm, young lady."

"But-" Weiss protested.

Goodwitch swung her riding crop, and she instinctively flinched. "No buts! I understand your frustration, but the headmaster is far too busy with his duties to be bothered with these petty concerns of yours. I thought that as the heiress to one of the largest companies in the world, you'd realize that."

"I realize that I'm an ideal leader," Weiss replied. "I'm basically acting as our team's leader now, so how hard could it be to just change a couple names on the record and-"

The professor gave her a look so withering she almost prepared herself for battle - which would have definitely come up on her student transcript. "I think I told you we were done talking, Miss Schnee. Go get some rest. You'll want to be at full strength for tomorrow's class, believe me."

She turned away and closed the office doors behind her with a loud _thud,_ leaving Weiss alone in the silent hallway.

Weiss stood there for a second, seething as she gazed at the entrance to Professor Ozpin's room. All she had to do was speak with him, and this entire problem would be solved. It was so simple; he would see that she deserved to be Team RWBY's leader, and then she'd officially take over the position and make everything better.

 _It's my duty,_ she thought. _My duty is that of a leader._

And it would be good for Ruby, too. The poor girl was clearly terrified at having to lead people older than her, and she wasn't ready for the responsibility in the slightest. Weiss would be taking that heavy burden off her shoulders. Why couldn't she understand that?

"Tomorrow, then," Weiss muttered through clenched teeth, storming off towards the dormitories. "I'll come here the first chance I get. He'll listen to me. He'll listen to me, I know he will."

On her way there, she came across a surprising face. It was none other than Pyrrha Nikos, who was holding a large box of some kind over her shoulder as their paths converged. "Hello, Weiss!" she said cheerfully. "What are you doing out here at a time like this? Evening classes, I presume?"

"A-ah, no, it was…" Weiss stuttered, "Umm… I was just coming back from office hours. You know, for help with homework. Not that I needed it, of course! Just wanted to check to see if… if…"

"I see," Pyrrha said, smiling warmly at her. "You're the most hard-working out of all of us, that's for certain."

"Thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that." Weiss bowed. "I'm glad to see someone around here appreciates my talents."

"Hmm? What do you mean? I would think everyone here looks up to you as a model student, Weiss." Something fell off the top of Pyrrha's box, hitting Weiss's shoulder as it fell to the floor. "Oh! I'm sorry."

"It's alright." She knelt down and picked it up, noting with a frown that it was some sort of small packet. _Triple-Action Ambrosia,_ read the label, _The leading brand in stomach pain relief._ "What are you carrying this around for?"

The redhead smiled ruefully. "Well, it's not for me. Jaune started to feel a little… unwell after second period, I'm afraid. As it turned out, he ate a Persephonian Fruit during Plants and Sciences because he thought it was a snack, since he was sleeping when Professor Peach explained that it was poisonous."

She sighed and shook her head. "He's been throwing up for three hours now… I'm bringing him some more medicine from the infirmary since we've completely run out."

 _Yes, that sounds like him, alright,_ Weiss thought. Everything she saw and heard of Jaune Arc only reinforced her belief that the boy wasn't fit to be a Huntsman, let alone the leader of his team. Ozpin really did make some questionable choices.

"It's unlikely he'll recover in time for tomorrow's sparring matches," Pyrrha continued. "It's really quite a shame… I was looking forward to us working together as partners again." She took the medicine packet and gingerly placed it back inside the box.

"... I'm sorry to hear that," Weiss said, hiding the fireworks that were now going off inside her head. _Yes! Yes! Oh my gods, YES!_ "Do you… have any ideas on who your new sparring partner will be? I'm sure you're strong enough to go solo, but…"

Pyrrha nodded. "Yes, I considered it, but I really do think cooperation is crucial to our growth as Huntresses. I don't know who I would choose to pair up with, though. I think you would be a splendid choice, though I'm sure you'd rather be with your own partner."

"Oh no, it's fine!" Weiss exclaimed. "Ruby, um, decided she wanted to things by herself, so as fate would have it, I'm completely free! Would you like to pair up with me tomorrow, Pyrrha?"

The redhead raised her eyebrows. "Oh, is that so? Well in that case, I'd love to." She gave her another one of her pretty smiles.

When they reached the dormitories, they heard the loud, ugly sounds of retching behind Team JNPR's door. Nora burst out of the room, waving her hands frantically. "Mayday! Mayday!" she cried. "We've had a major breach! There's flooding everywhere! We need support, now, or Jaune's gonna drown!"

"Don't worry, I've got more," Pyrrha reassured her, showing her the box of medicine. Looking relieved, Nora went back inside.

"To think Jaune of all people is your team's leader…" Weiss said with a shudder. "From the bottom of my heart, you have my deepest condolences."

Pyrrha frowned at her. "Hmm? What for?"

"I mean, he doesn't seem like he can even fight, let alone lead a squad of elite Huntsmen like yourself. And he's clearly a total idiot. I certainly wouldn't want to follow someone like that."

"Well, it's true he's very rough around the ages," Pyrrha admitted. "But he's friendly, funny, and even when his attempts to be charming don't pay off, it's still endearing. The three of us enjoy being around him. That's all there is to it."

"Even if he's likable, that has nothing to do with whether he's a good leader," Weiss insisted.

Pyrrha frowned at her, her expression confused. "... Why not?" she asked.

"PYRRHHAAAAAAA!" Nora's shrill screams rang out from behind the door. "We're losing him! Come on, come on, hurry! It's an emergency!"

"Oops!" Scrambling, Pyrrha ran into the dormitory, pausing to look back at Weiss. "I'll see you tomorrow, Weiss! I look forward to fighting with you!"

Weiss was smiling as she strolled into her room, only for her face to drop as she saw Ruby, Yang and Blake all playing some stupid video game on the TV, utterly fixated on it. The two sisters in particular were causing a total ruckus. Bags of chips, as well as empty soda and beer cans were strewn everywhere.

"What the _hell_ is happening here?" she shouted, catching her teammates' attention, all of whom turned to look at her with similar scowls on their faces. "Who gave you permission to turn this place into a pigsty?"

"No one did," Blake said. "We just kind of decided to do it."

"Well, stop it!" Weiss stomped over to the TV and forcefully pulled the plug, earning her an anguished cry from Ruby. "It's already late at night! It's time we all went to bed - don't forget, we'll be getting up early again tomorrow."

Yang scowled. "Do you think you're our mom, or something?"

"Do you want to hear this again in the morning?" She dangled the silver whistle in front of her, and the blonde had the grace to flinch.

"No," Ruby muttered quietly. Silently, all three girls began to prepare for bedtime, not saying a word or even looking Weiss in the face. Watching them, she began to feel a sensation that was somehow familiar, yet alien to her. She couldn't quite explain it.

An hour later, Weiss lay on her bed in the darkness, trying her best to fall asleep. To her side, she could hear the faint sounds of laughter coming from the other room. Team JNPR's room. She could just make out Jaune saying something, followed by a hearty laugh from Nora. When she listened closely, she could hear Pyrrha joining in. Even Ren seemed to be laughing.

 _Sad,_ she thought. _Why do I feel sad?_

As it turned out, her teammates still had no intention of following her orders. So the following morning at six o'clock sharp, Weiss blew the whistle again, to the immense indignation of Ruby, Yang and especially Blake for some reason.

They went through the motions once more - breakfast in a near-empty cafeteria, then Huntsman Law class with Tukson, where Weiss had to prod Ruby and Yang awake on several occasions, and then Stealth and Security class with Professor Greene, where Yang ended up blowing up most of the training equipment.

Throughout the morning, Weiss was aware of a persistent, resentful energy in the air - her teammates wouldn't look at her, and only spoke to each other in hushed whispers that left her anxious. At one point, she'd tried to initiate a friendly conversation with Blake, wanting to compare answers, only to be met with a cold, piercing stare.

That depressing atmosphere seemed to have alleviated come lunchtime. Blake just ate silently, but that was nothing unusual. Ruby and Yang were eagerly chatting away with Ren and Nora about something - it was probably stupid and not worth listening to. Jaune hadn't been able to get up due to his sickness, which meant Weiss had the Invincible Girl all to herself.

"I can't wait to see how well we fight together, Pyrrha," she said sweetly. "I love your weapons - a lance and shield, combo, hmmm? Very unique."

"Yes, Milo and Akouo are my most trusted companions," Pyrrha said. "Though I'm afraid they're simply hand-me-downs, as I'm not very skilled at weapon construction…"

"What, a talent you don't possess? That's impossible!" Weiss smiled. "Why don't I teach you sometime? Let's both stick together, and with our combined power we can take over this entire academy!"

"Well, I don't know if I'd put it like that, but the offer sounds lovely," the other girl laughed.

Suddenly, they heard a commotion from nearby. "Look who it is," came a rude, gruff voice as a quartet of male students approached their table. Weiss recognized them as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester, who had given the demonstration in their first combat class along with his partner, Russel Thrush. Their equally-ugly teammates, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark, followed them closely behind, with the same dumb grins on their faces.

 _Bullies and troublemakers,_ Weiss thought in disgust. _Not worth my time._ She turned away from them and went back to her food. She needn't have bothered, though, since Cardin and his goons were more focused on someone else.

"Word about you's spreading all over Beacon," Cardin sneered at Ruby. "Y'know they call you the 'Red Prodigy', right? One of the youngest people to ever attend Beacon. Ha! I wonder if they'd say the same if they knew how badly you got your ass kicked the other day. More like the Red Runt, am I right?"

For some reason, his three friends all burst out laughing like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard. _They're all idiots._

Yang flared up in anger, her eyes flashing red. "Back off, you asshole!" she yelled, coming to her sister's defense. "Ruby's worth ten of guys like you!"

"Really? Well, lucky her - she'll have a chance to prove it today!" Cardin laughed. "You're gonna show up to the sparring matches. Right, runt? Not gonna chicken out, are ya?"

"Of course she's not!" Nora replied, standing up and raising her arms aggressively. "If you try to go up against Ruby, buddy, she's gonna break your legs! One hundred percent guaranteed!"

Pyrrha nodded encouragingly at the younger girl. "You can do it, Ruby. Er, not the part about breaking his legs. I believe in you!"

"You're an early student at Beacon _and_ a team leader," Ren said softly. "Statistically, that itself is an impressive accomplishment."

Blake said nothing, but placed an encouraging hand on Ruby's shoulder. She flashed a glare at Team CRDL that actually make them step away in fear.

"H-Hmph," Cardin growled. "All that's great and all, but what's it matter if the runt isn't even gonna stand up for herself, huh?"

Ruby glanced around at her friends, looking both nervous and great. "Y-yeah… yeah!" she said, nodding to herself. She gave Cardin a bold smile. "I'll definitely take you up on your offer. Bring it on!"

The large boy smirked. "Heh! It's a deal, then. Don't say I didn't warn ya." With that, he and his friends walked away, going over to harass some Faunus that were sitting at their own table near the entrance.

Weiss was enjoying her beef roast, savouring the newfound silence, when she felt a tight grip on her arm. "What the hell was up with that?" Yang yelled, her face uncomfortably close to hers. Her eyes were glowing red, as they always did when she was angry.

Weiss was confused. "Me? I didn't do anything!"

"That's my point!" the blonde snapped. "Everyone else here stood up for Ruby, except you! Aren't you supposed to be her partner? Didn't you want to be our _leader?_ Leaders support their friends! How can you prattle on and on about how you should be leader and not understand that?"

Weiss stood up furiously. "Are you trying to lecture me?" she yelled.

"No, I'm just calling you out on your bullshit!" Yang yelled back. "Don't you get it, Weiss? This is why nobody wants you as their leader!"

Weiss stared at her, jaw hanging agape. A thousand angry retorts rose up inside her mind, but her mouth refused to speak any of them. An uncomfortable silence filled the air.

Thankfully, it was broken by the sound of the bell, signifying the end of the current period. "O-oh! Time for our next class, guys!" Nora said with forced cheeriness. "C'mon, guys! Let's not keep Professor Oobleck waiting!" She cast a nervous glance at Weiss as she raced out of the cafeteria, dragging Ren with her.

"I'll see you later, Weiss. I hope we work well together." Pyrrha gave her a courteous nod as she followed her teammates.

"... Whatever," she muttered quietly, glowering at Ruby, Yang and Blake. "We've got some free time before Goodwitch's class so just… do whatever you want. But don't be late." Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed her half-finished latte and stormed out of the cafeteria. Behind her, she could hear the three of them immediately return to their conversation, chatting happily.

 _Where am I going?_ She thought to herself, her legs moving on their own. _I know. I'll go find Professor Ozpin again. It's still early enough in the day. I'll ask him to make me the leader. He'll listen to me this time - he will!_

 _No he won't,_ her own voice responded. _Don't be stupid._ Weiss's shoulders slumped; of course the headmaster wouldn't. He was the busiest, most important person in all of Beacon, if not all of Vale. Maybe even all of Remnant itself. Weiss may have been a Schnee, even the heiress to their legacy, but here she was just a mere student.

 _There's no way,_ she finally decided, giving up. It had always been a stupid idea; it was simply ludicrous to think that Ozpin would have the free time or interest to speak to her and listen to her demands. The whole thing had been hopeless from the start.

She found the headmaster sitting cross-legged on a couch in the library, reading a book. "Hello, Miss Schnee," he said cheerfully. "What seems to be troubling you?"

She nearly spewed her latte. "P-P-Professor?!" she gasped.

"Oh. I'm sorry if I surprised you," Ozpin said, smiling at her as he sipped from his mug.

"N-No, it's just… I didn't really expect to find you in a place like this. I thought you were always cooped up in your office, busy with one thing or another."

"Mmmm, I often find myself getting tired of that room's atmosphere. Plenty more comfortable places in my academy, and this one has books, as well." He quietly flipped the page. "This is quite a delightful read - _The Caged Songbird._ You wouldn't believe it, but the author was a good friend of mine."

 _Isn't that story hundreds of years old?!_ "I'll… take that recommendation to heart, Professor. Perhaps I'll ask Blake if she has a copy."

"A good idea. I believe there's quite a lot to learn about Miss B… well, about that girl," Ozpin replied, giving her a meaningful look, one she didn't quite understand. "Ah, and please, call me Oz. Personally, I've never cared for the formalities. Now then…"

The headmaster pushed up his glasses and smiled at her. "...why is it you want to become the leader of Team RWBY?"

"Well, that's because I have all the right qualities for-" Weiss stopped herself. "W-Wait, how do you know what I was gonna ask?!"

Ozpin cocked his head to the side quizzically. "...Were you trying to hide it?" He asked.

Despite herself, Weiss felt a mild rush of embarrassment. _I suppose I… wasn't really being subtle, was I?_

"No," she admitted. "But you have to see it's obvious, don't you? My background makes me perfectly suited to lead a team. Ruby Rose has no such credentials. And I know being a leader isn't just about strength - you need to make efficient schedules, maintain the team's reputation, and make choices not just for yourself, but others as well. All of which I can do." She puffed out her chest proudly.

Ozpin stared at her. "... And what else?" he asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You were listing off qualities of an effective leader, correct? Do go on." He took another sip.

"Ummm…" Weiss tried to think. "A good leader needs to look after their subordinates when they're in danger. They also need to discipline them so they don't get out of line. And… they share all their successes and failures with them, to maintain the team dynamic."

"I see." Ozpin nodded. "Well, what about companionship? You like to refer to your teammates as subordinates, but what about as companions? Shouldn't a leader also try to be liked by the people sworn to follow her?"

"Of course!" Weiss said sharply. "I just thought saying that would be redundant. A good leader will naturally become well-liked when people see how effective their methods are!"

"How has that been working out for you?"

Weiss froze. She thought about the way that Ruby, Yang and Blake looked at her, the reluctance with which they obeyed her commands - if they even did. And then she thought about that idiot, Jaune "Vomit Boy" Arc, how he could make his teammates laugh even while he was throwing up chunks and making a fool of himself.

 _The three of us enjoy being around him,_ Pyrrha had said. _That's all there is to it._

Less than an hour ago, Ruby had been picked on by a bunch of bullies. Even though she was a lacklustre leader, and hurt the team's reputation because of her failings, everyone had, without a moment's hesitation, rushed to her defense. Because everything else aside, they all liked her.

 _Would they have done the same for me?_ Weiss thought, and realized she could not answer.

"You're upset that I chose Ruby Rose over you," the professor said. "You think I chose wrong. Is that your concern?"

"...Yes," Weiss said. _No use denying it at this point._

"I remember my first meeting with Miss Rose," Ozpin mused. "A bright young girl, perhaps you could say she was naive, but she was full of joy and energy. I seem to have noticed… a change in her behaviour these past few days. You two didn't have some sort of disagreement, did you?"

Weiss scowled. "Nothing of the sort! It was all on her, anyway! Sh-she was just acting like a child! Why does she have to throw a fit just because things didn't go the way she wanted them to?!"

As she said that, she froze, as understanding finally dawned on her. _Oh._ She felt her face go beet red.

Ozpin saw it, and he smiled at her. "I wouldn't blame you for thinking I was wrong. I have made many mistakes, child, many more than you could possibly know. But I still made those choices - the good ones and the bad - because I believed in them. This time is no different. But whether choosing Miss Rose as leader was a mistake is something she will decide… and I think you will, too.

"There are many ways to lead, Miss Schnee," the professor concluded. "And not all of them require a title and a fancy badge."

Weiss began to think about her early days; the days she spent surrounded by the people of Schnee Manor. The loneliest days of her life. She remembered the things her father Jacques would say to her and her siblings, telling them what to do, punishing them for their disobedience, never being around for the important times - Winter's tournament matches, Whitley's art exhibitions, Weiss's recitals, and eventually even their birthdays as well.

Winter had been the one to take care of her then. Even after Whitley had… changed, her older sister was always there for her. Training her, looking after her, and sometimes even just telling her things were going to be alright would make her feel better. As far as young Weiss was concerned, Winter was the true head of the family.

… _So that's it,_ she thought glumly. _Now I see what I was feeling._

At that moment, the bell rang, signifying the beginning of the next period. "I believe that's for you. I wouldn't advise keeping Glynda waiting," Ozpin chuckled, sipping his hot cocoa. "I hope this conversation has been enlightening, Weiss."

"It has," Weiss nodded. "... Thank you, professor."

"Oh no, whatever conclusion you've reached from our talk, you came to it through your own understanding. I have nothing to be thanked for." Smiling sadly, the headmaster handed her his copy of _The Caged Songbird._ "Here. I've already read it many times before, after all. Just be sure to return it within the month."

Weiss ran to Professor Goodwitch's classroom as fast as she could, and burst in just as the next match was about to begin. "Is there really no one else free to pair up?" Goodwitch was saying.

On the stage, a very frightened Ruby was clutching Crescent Rose with shaking hands, staring down both Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush. Laughing, Cardin swung his mace dramatically, causing the girl to flinch. Seeing her now, it was very hard to imagine her as the Grimm-slaying warrior she really was.

Weiss hurried down the steps, pausing by her team's desk where Blake and Yang stared at her in surprise. On her right was Pyrrha, looking at her with a curious expression.

"Hey, Pyrrha…" Weiss said hesitantly. "I know this is on very short notice, but…"

"It's okay. I understand." Pyrrha smiled at her. She'd shown her quite a few smiles since they'd met, but Weiss had a feeling that this was the first time it was truly genuine. "Fight well, Weiss."

Using her glyphs, she catapulted herself onto the stage, right next to a shocked Ruby. "Wait!" she yelled right as the boys were about to charge forward. "I'll be her partner! This is going to be a two-on-two fight! Please, Professor!"

"... Hmph. I don't much like your attitude of barging in late and asking things of me - especially since you haven't even changed into your combat uniform," Professor Goodwitch muttered, yet her tiny smile betrayed her. "But have it your way. I will allow it this time."

"What are you doing, Weiss?" Ruby asked her.

"Shut up, you idiot," Weiss said. "Are you doing this together or not?"

Her partner smiled. "... Yeah. Yeah!" she nodded. "Let's do it!"

The CRDL boys came at them - Cardin with his mace, Russell with his twin swords. Weiss and Ruby prepared to meet their charge. Ruby's weapon was heavier, so she ran at Cardin to intercept him, while Weiss summoned a glyph to knock Russell back, before lunging at him for a strike.

The skinny boy yelped as he staggered backwards, struggling to keep his balance as he blocked her attack. Rotating her rapier's chamber, Weiss used a blast of ice Dust to encase Russell's swords, freezing them together. As the boy foolishly struggled with his now-useless weapons, Weiss drove Myrtenaster at his exposed stomach, knocking out his Aura.

With Russell eliminated, Weiss ran to reinforce Ruby, who was struggling to land a hit on Cardin. "Hraaah!" She rolled a vial of air Dust into the primary slot, blowing a strong gust of wind from Myrtenaster's tip. The boy raised his mace to guard himself, but the force from the blast caused him to stumble. He began to lose his grip on the weapon.

"Ruby! Now!" Weiss raised her rapier, summoning her glyphs around Cardin, who was still recovering. "Take him down!"

Grinning, Ruby nodded. Activating her Semblance, she dashed onto the first glyph, propelling herself onto the next one and gaining even more speed. She struck Cardin in the side with her first strike, causing him to drop his mace. The next glyph propelled her upward onto the highest one, and she let out a joyful cry as she hung upside down for a split second.

Then she charged downward, too fast for Weiss to even see, slicing into Cardin and obliterating the rest of his Aura in a single strike. The sheer force from her high-speed strike caused a miniature sonic boom, sending Weiss flying backwards with a yelp.

 _Hmph! Even when she's being useful, she's still causing me trouble._ Still, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't impressed with Ruby's display.

When she recovered, a dazed Cardin was lying on the stage, futilely grasping for his mace. Ruby was wobbling around nearby, looking dizzy from how fast she'd been a moment ago. The sound of Professor Goodwitch's whistle rang throughout the room as she approached them, nodding in approval.

"And that's the match! The winners are Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee," she declared. "Very impressive, both of you. I see the two of you have improved your teamwork since your last attempt."

Ruby laughed. "Yeah… I guess we have." She flashed a smile at Weiss, and Weiss smiled back.

The audience burst into applause, and Yang's cheers drowned out all the others. "YEAAAHHHH! Go, Sis! You're the best! And you're great too, Weiss!" she hollered. "Team RWBY for life!" Beside her, even Blake was clapping for them, albeit a bit more softly.

Cardin slowly staggered to his feet, with Russell helping him up. "This ain't over!" he snarled at the two of them. "We'll be back next time, and we're gonna kick your asses! You better be ready… except you won't be! Bet on that!"

Weiss and Ruby didn't have the time for him. They made their way to where Blake and Yang were waiting for them. Weiss smiled apologetically at the two of them as they approached. "I suppose… I should apologize to you, Yang."

"Yeah, you should! You were being a total bitch earlier!" The blonde punched her shoulder, but it was a light-hearted one. "Still… it looks like you managed to get your act together, so I guess things worked out, huh?"

"I didn't think you actually had a nice side," Blake said begrudgingly. "Maybe you're not so bad after all."

Weiss smiled. "I'm… going to take that as a compliment."

She turned to look at Pyrrha, who was now on the stage facing her sparring opponents. She actually was going to fight them solo, but there was no doubt that she would be fine. _Another time,_ Weiss thought. _Don't think this means I've given up on you, Pyrrha Nikos._

That night, the four of them ate dinner together in their room. "I'm sorry for the things I said," Weiss told Ruby. "I… was too harsh. I was so caught up in all of my incredible talents that I failed to see your worthwhile qualities too."

"Hehe, I think that's the most humble apology you're capable of," Ruby giggled. "But it's okay. I should have been a better leader, too. I should have realized what was being expected of me, and tried to work towards it. Which I'm gonna do, starting right now."

Using her Semblance, she leapt onto her bed. "Alright, listen up!" she declared, after clearing her throat, "Now that I've reclaimed my rightful position as leader of this fine team, I'm gonna make some changes to the rules! And add some of my own, of course."

"... And what rules might those be?" Weiss asked, dread building in her heart.

"I'm glad you asked!" Ruby laughed, and began to list them off, one by one…

The next day, Weiss Schnee woke up at 8:30 for the first time in her life. She was blown away by how refreshed she felt as got out of bed, feeling like a completely new person. The only downside was that they were more likely to be late for class, but she supposed that was okay. Maybe showing up an hour early wasn't necessary after all.

In the cafeteria, they sat down with Team JNPR, who were already eating. Jaune reluctantly told the horrifying details of his stomach illness, and everyone burst out laughing at his expense. Weiss and Pyrrha exchanged their favourite combat tips. Ruby, Yang, Ren and Nora continued their talk from yesterday, which was about weapon upgrades. Interested, Weiss joined in, discussing a potential expansion of Myrtenaster's Dust chambers.

As the two teams shared stories and conversations over scrambled eggs, bacon and of course, chocolate-chip cookies, Weiss began to feel strange. It wasn't a bad feeling like before, though - on the contrary, she was the happiest she'd been in years.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, Weiss felt like she belonged. She was surrounded by people who were neither beneath her nor above her. Not subordinates, but teammates, _friends_ , with whom she would forge precious memories that would last a lifetime.

She was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back. Tomorrow, I'll post Chapter 5 (9 if you count the 'trailer' chapters), and then once I continue the fic proper - which should be early 2020, I'll post them simultaneously on AO3 and FF.net.
> 
> Cheers,  
> donutkirby


	9. Work and Play

**Chapter 5: Work and Play**

**RUBY**

Ruby had been certain that no class could possibly be more boring and nap-inducing than Huntsman Law, but first-year Biology class was starting to take a very close second place. As the dull, monotone voice of Professor Harold Mulberry swam in her ears, she found her writing hand growing weaker by the minute, her pencil slipping across the notebook page.

"And of course, Aura is the most important aspect of our bodies, yet so many of us don't even have the means to use it," the professor droned on. "But this powerful physical energy we possess is an absolute necessity in our lives as Huntsmen and Huntresses. It shields us from injuries, including those that would otherwise be fatal.

"To this day, no one knows exactly where Aura came from - whether they were a gift from the Two Brothers, some freak genetic mutation, or something else entirely." Professor Mulberry strolled over to his desk and began drawing a diagram of Aura waves enveloping a person's body, along with brief sketches of a humanoid stag and dragon - the twin gods of light and darkness. "But I'll leave that debate up to Professor Oobleck. What we're interested in here is the mechanics of Aura itself."

' _Interested' is a strong word,_ Ruby thought, stifling a yawn. Right now, all she really wanted to do was get back into the action - maybe spar with Yang or Nora a little, or shoot down some targets in the gym… really, any excuse to be up and on her feet instead of sitting down in an uncomfortable chair, poring over notes she could barely understand.

Still, she resolved to stay awake. After all, she was the leader, and a leader wasn't allowed to let their team down. So she lightly slapped herself on the cheek, pinched her hand to bring some feeling back into it, and did her best to pay attention.

"It's important to think of Aura as more of a voluntary state, one that must be reached," Mulberry continued. "Activating one's Aura can only be done when one has a powerful resolve in mind. When you do so, not only will your body be better protected against enemy attacks, but your own physical strength will be heightened, and this will even extend to your weapons and armour."

The professor began drawing various shields, swords, guns, gun-swords and other equipment to illustrate his point. "But as they say, there's no such thing as a free lunch, and Aura is no exception. While the act of maintaining Aura, by itself, has minimal negative effect, using it in any capacity - tanking hits, enhancing your own attacks - will strain it considerably. Depending on your strength of mind, your stamina will vary, but it's finite regardless. So use it wisely, since your life _will_ depend on it."

Ruby heard some faint snoring from nearby, and saw Jaune Arc slumped over at his desk, fast asleep. _Uh-oh._ She remembered when Professor Tukson had caught her not paying attention in Huntsman Law, and the embarrassment that had come from it. Her whole team had suffered the consequences for her failure. _I don't want the same thing to happen to Team JNPR._

She cast a glance at Mulberry, who was busy sketching diagrams while droning on about the recharge periods between Aura activations. Seizing her chance, Ruby silently tore out a page from her notebook, fashioning it into a paper airplane. _Let's see if ten years of practice and hard work have paid off!_

Taking a deep breath, she threw the plane into the air, watching as it flew up to the ceiling, looping around in several circles, before somehow hitting the young man right on the forehead with the pointy end.

"Geh-?!" Jaune sputtered as he was jolted awake, glancing around in confusion. He turned to see Ruby, who smiled and gave him a V-sign. Grinning sheepishly, the swordsman mouthed a silent _thanks_ just as the professor turned back to face the class.

"While all living beings have been shown to possess Aura - or at least, the potential for it," Mulberry stated. "Humans and Faunus are the only creatures who have managed to voluntarily channel that energy… but even so, scientists agree we have still yet to find its true potential."

He cast a stern glance at the students. "Your next assignment will be a comprehensive essay on Professor Polendina's Aura theory research. I recommend effective diagrams to help illustrate your points. That will be all - class dismissed!" As if on cue, the end-of-period bell rang, and almost everyone immediately got ready to leave, except the ones who were sleeping.

"Diagrams, hmm?" Weiss said anxiously as Team RWBY strolled out of the classroom. "I think he'll be expecting at least three for maximum credit. Blake, I know you have the best artistic talent out of us - would you mind helping me draw?"

"Can't you just download some images from the Network?" Blake said.

"No, no, no!" she insisted. "I simply refuse to take the easy way out of this! The professor must see how much _soul_ I'm putting in my work. He'll have no choice but to give me extra points for dedication alone!"

The black-haired girl raised her eyebrows. "Oh? So you're saying your skills aren't good enough on your own, then? That's unusually humble of you."

Weiss's jaw dropped. _Oh boy, here we go,_ Ruby braced herself, but to her surprise no outburst came. It seemed the heiress only ever took her anger out on her partner. If anything, she just looked very disappointed by Blake's lack of interest.

 _I bet Weiss likes her,_ Ruby thought. It made sense - both girls were incredibly studious and focused in their own ways, so of course Weiss would try to befriend her. Yet even in the weeks since initiation, while Ruby and her sister had slowly warmed up to the cold-hearted heiress and vice-versa, Blake continued to give Weiss the cold shoulder, preferring to stare at her from a distance with a vaguely creepy glare.

They had a free period now, and Blake quickly wandered off to the library, mumbling about wanting to find some new books. The moment they got back to the dorm, Weiss made a beeline for her desk, and began scribbling down notes for her assignment.

"Dude. We've got over a week for this," Yang said. "Can't we relax and have a break first? Play some video games, watch a movie, those things that most humans do?"

"Quiet," Weiss snapped. "You're breaking my concentration."

Yang sighed. "Well… I guess some things never really change. What about you, Ruby? Whaddya say we go for a round or two, eh? Hunters vs Grimm, one-v-one, for the rematch of the century?"

"Ummm… sorry, Sis," Ruby muttered. "But I've got a lot of work to do too, so… not right now." That got her a rare look of approval from her partner, and an utterly flabbergasted look from her sister.

"Whaaaaaaaat? Seriously? Don't tell me the Ice Queen's No-Fun Disease is spreading!" The blonde warrior groaned and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, fine. Have it your way, I guess. Now if you'll excuse me…" With an impressive somersault, she launched herself onto her bunk, and promptly began doing push-ups.

Ruby unloaded her backpack, and began sifting through her piles of homework. Despite her best efforts, she was still lagging behind, and that wouldn't do. As long as she was team leader, she had to make a good impression. _Umm… a combat training video for Goodwitch, an online test for Port's class, and…_

She groaned and smacked herself upside the head. "Oh, noooooo! I forgot about Professor Oobleck's essay! It's due tomorrow!" She was beginning to panic. "U-um, what was it again? It was an analysis on the Faunus Rights Revolution, I think? I never actually borrowed the book like he said to do..."

"Oh, it's about the Faunus War?" Yang paused mid-push, smiling brightly. "Well, in that case, you should just ask Blake! Y'know, since she's-" Suddenly, her eyes widened in horror as she clasped her hand to her mouth, falling onto her chest in the process.

"You're right! Cuz she's total bookworm!" Ruby exclaimed. "I bet she's memorized the whole textbook already! That's a great idea, Sis!"

"Y-Yeah! It sure is!" Yang smiled nervously, looking as though her father had just sternly asked if she'd stolen any beer from the fridge. "Boy howdy, I sure am full of great ideas, right Ruby?"

"Yep!" Ruby took out the books she needed and placed them in a small pouch at her hip. "Thanks Yang, you're a lifesaver. Seeya!" Activating her Semblance, she disappeared out of the room and down the hall, leaving behind a shower of rose petals.

The library smelled of lavender and dusty old books, and there weren't many students walking around at this time of day. Ruby was fine with that, but it was quiet - way too quiet for her own liking. Uncle Qrow had taught her to be wary of silence, as any small noise could be the sign of a nearby Grimm, or bandit, or some other enemy.

Ruby didn't think there were any Grimm sneaking around Beacon Academy's library, but she still tiptoed around noiselessly, sneaking glances at every shelf, desk and corner of the massive room, as she searched for Blake.

She found her sitting near the very back of the library, a mountain of textbooks piled up on her table. Unusually for Blake, though, she didn't seem to be reading any of them, and was instead focused on her Scroll, talking to someone. Curious, Ruby slowly approached her.

"...if I can get closer to Weiss," she heard Blake say as she tiptoed closer. "I'll try to find some time, some place…" Suddenly, the girl stopped talking, and her head shot up slightly. Ruby could swear she saw Blake's bow move for a moment.

"I'll need to get back to you later. Yeah, I'll have more information next time." She turned off the Scroll and slowly turned to Ruby, who was cowering in place with a fearful, sheepish expression on her face. "I didn't expect to see you of all people in the library."

Ruby laughed nervously. "Wh-what do you mean? I'm the booksmart-iest person out of all of us! Well, except you of course."

"I guess you have your moments," Blake replied, sighing as she picked a book off the pile she'd built - _1001 Ways To Get Killed By Grimm (And How To Avoid Them) -_ and began to read. "So, I'm willing to bet you stopped by for a reason, right? Most people do." She spoke without moving her eyes from the book's pages.

"Ummm… Our History essay on the Faunus Rights Revolution is due tomorrow, but I kinda forgot about it, so I was wondering if maybe you could help me out with it…"

"Oh. Of course." Nodding, Blake reached out to grab another book, which Ruby assumed was the textbook on the Faunus War. It was actually a first-edition copy of something called _Eversky: Knights of Andromeda,_ which looked like the sort of science fiction epic that the black-haired girl would really enjoy.

"So, do you want your essay to focus more on the causes behind the war or the actual events of it?" Blake asked, flipping through the pages. "Personally, I tried to go for a combination of both."

"Both! Both sounds good," Ruby agreed.

"Alright. Well, the Faunus War really began years before the first shot was fired. The human councils of Mistral and the recently-formed government of Atlas wanted to permanently deport all Faunus from their kingdoms. Despite promising them shelter and acknowledging them as people after their contributions in the Great War, they were secretly plotting to drive them out for decades."

Blake calmly and smoothly described the history of the war as she read her book, not looking away for a second.

 _Her memory really is impressive,_ Ruby thought. _And she sounds super invested in all of it, too…_ She considered suggesting to Blake that she should become a Teaching Assistant for History at some point.

"Eventually, some Faunus revolutionaires realized what the humans were up to and began preparing for a counterattack. They began setting up bases and secret operatives all around Mistral, Atlas and Vale, with Vacuo being the only Kingdom left out of the conflict." Blake turned to look at a surprised Ruby. "Hmm? You didn't know that friendly, tolerant Vale was also in on the plot?"

Ruby shook her head. "No… I didn't, actually. Sorry, I wasn't… really paying attention to anything the textbook said…"

"No, no, you don't have to be sorry for anything," Blake said, almost sounding gentle. "In any case, the Faunus were waiting for the first shot to be fired, and eventually that's just what happened. It was some minor skirmish over unclaimed territory in Mistral, but it caused a massive chain reaction all over the world, and the next thing you knew everyone was at each other's throats."

Ruby shuddered. "That sounds terrible." Reluctantly, she took out her pen and began scribbling down some notes. It almost felt wrong to be writing about such a tragic and destructive time in their world's history, but she supposed she had to. And in a way, writing them down was how these things got remembered. To remain in the books as a lesson for all those who came after.

"That's a brief rundown on how the war started," Blake continued. "There were a lot of battles during the four years of the Faunus Rights Revolution, and all of them resulted in heavy casualties for the Faunus armies… but I bet the teacher only cares about the big, exciting, memorable ones." She looked at Ruby curiously. "Which ones do you remember?"

She pondered for a moment, furiously racking her brain. "I know about the Battle of Fort Castle," Ruby said. "That was, like, the big turning point of the whole war, I think. The Faunus armies in Vale seized a huge part of the land and a lot of valuable equipment, and managed to drive out the rest of the human forces in the area."

Blake nodded. "Yes… that's one of the important battles, but there's also the Fall of the Icarian Tower. Ever heard of it?"

Ruby shook her head.

"No? That's interesting. Well…" The black-haired girl started flipping through her book more quickly, and Ruby thought her eyes would have to be faster than light to be able to read anything at that speed. "That battle, if you can call it that, happened around the height of the war's escalation. A lot of Faunus civilians, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire, secluded themselves in a nearby mountain settlement called the Icarian Tower. They thought they would be safe there."

Blake sighed. "They were wrong. A human regiment found their hiding place and invaded. There were barely any trained fighters among the Faunus there, but that didn't stop the humans. They showed no mercy to anyone, not women, not children, not even infants. And as for the ones who survived the initial slaughter… well, you can guess what came for them next." Saying that, she solemnly closed her book.

… _Well then._ Ruby looked down, suddenly not feeling very interested in taking down notes. At the moment, all she wanted to do was leap into her bed, take a nap, and forget about everything for just a couple hours. Maybe it was a good thing she hadn't done much research on the Faunus War… everything about it made her feel sick to her stomach.

"I'm sorry," Blake said. "I might have gotten a bit carried away there. I don't think that particular event was even in the textbook, anyway. You might not get extra points for writing about it. People often get very reluctant when it comes to confronting their own dark history, it seems." There was a sharp tinge of bitterness in her voice as she spoke those words.

"I get what you mean," Ruby said. "It's really hard to accept that people just like us could have done these things, y'know? It's a lot easier to just think the Grimm are everyone's only enemies."

"It's definitely easier," Blake agreed, "but unfortunately, life is never as easy as we'd like it to be."

She glanced down at her lap, and Ruby saw a strange, sad expression fly across her face. She had a feeling Blake was like her, in a way - the sort of person who desperately wanted life to be easier and more fair, not just for herself but for the people around her. But the sad look in the black-haired girl's eyes were those of someone who, at least partially, had given up hope on that ever happening.

"Well, maybe life's not so easy," Ruby said suddenly. "But that's why we're here, right? I mean, yeah, by throwing ourselves into Huntress training and going off to fight armies of Grimm, we're making things harder for ourselves, but we're doing this so that other people's lives can be easier, right? So that things can be better."

After a brief pause, Blake flashed her one of her very rare smiles. "Hah. You make a pretty good point, Ruby."

They began to hear noises from somewhere behind them; people were starting to fill the library, and some of them were talking loudly. "Don't they know where they are right now?" Blake grumbled, her interest returning to her stack of books. "If they can't keep silent, then they shouldn't be hanging around a library. Honestly."

It was clear that Blake wanted to be left alone now. "Um, see you later, Blake," Ruby said, nodding at her. "Thanks for the help! I really appreciate it!" She packed up her notebook and left, eventually realizing that the people who had just arrived sounded familiar. Sure enough, she turned a corner to find Team JNPR setting up at a table near the entrance.

"Guys!" Ruby exclaimed, running over to them. The librarian raised her head to look at them scathingly, as Blake probably would have done had she been nearby. "I didn't expect to see all of you here."

"Hey, Ruby." Jaune grinned at her, awkwardly dropping his textbooks in the process and scrambling to pick them back up. "Yeah, we're just doing some studying for the Stealth and Security test at the end of the week. Are Yang and the others with you, too?"

"Well, Blake's back there but uh, I don't think she really wants to be bothered right now." Ruby pointed behind her. "My sister and Weiss are in our room, doing homework. Well, Weiss is. I dunno what Yang is doing right now. Maybe exercising, maybe playing video games. I can never tell."

Jaune laughed. "Y-yeah. She can be pretty… unpredictable sometimes."

"She's an awesome fighter, though!" Nora chimed in, having poorly attempted to hide her video game handheld behind a small biology textbook. Ren, who was sitting right next to her, clearly noticed. "I've been itching to train with her again. Next time we get a chance, you should join us for once, Jaune!"

Pyrrha's eyes lit up. "Yes, that's a wonderful idea!" she exclaimed. "I'll train with you, Jaune. If you feel like your combat skills aren't up to par, I promise I'll do my best to help you out. Hopefully, you'll be much better in no time!"

"O-oh. Yeah, thanks Pyrrha, but I think for now I'll stick to training on my own." Jaune was staring intently at Ruby, and she was starting to feel nervous. "Hey, um, can I talk to you for a second? There's something I wanna ask…"

"Huh? Sure." Ruby blinked in confusion. She saw Pyrrha's look of disappointment, and Ren and Nora flashing her sympathetic glances as Jaune got up and went over to her.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about?" she asked him as they walked away, towards a bookshelf that was all about texts and guidebooks to modern Atlesian technologies. "Your expression back there was, uh, kinda intense."

The blonde smiled awkwardly. "Oh really? Guess I might've unsettled you a bit. Sorry, I was just… thinking about some things."

"Things like what?"

Jaune hesitated, and the silence that followed was just a little bit too long for Ruby's liking. "If it's something awkward or silly, you can still confide in me, you know," she said, breaking the tension. "I mean, it's not like this is about a secret crush or anything."

"Huh?" he blinked at her. "H-how did you know?!"

 _Wait, that was actually it?!_ "I, um, just made a lucky guess," Ruby admitted. She supposed it wasn't so hard to believe; Jaune had always seemed like a romantic sort of person, after all. "So, why did you want to talk to me of all people about this? I don't really have much experience with that sort of thing either."

"Well, because the girl I'm into is…" Jaune hesitated, and in that moment Ruby understood. She still remembered the way he'd stared at Weiss on the first day, with that look of utter enrapturement on his face. Weiss Schnee in all her graceful, elegant glory was exactly the sort of girl poor Jaune Arc _would_ pine for, all while knowing she was totally out of his league.

And Ruby was Weiss's partner, so if Jaune wanted advice on how to better know her, she was his best bet. Unfortunately, even after being Weiss's friend for some time now, Ruby honestly had no idea how anyone could truly break through the heiress's nigh-impenetrable shell. Still, Jaune was also her friend, and she was ready to do her best to support him.

"... it's your sister," Jaune admitted.

* * *

**BLAKE**

"... And then, the beast charged at me with an almighty, harrowing screech!" Professor Peter Port declared loudly, pumping his fists in the air as he recounted yet another of his many stories. "Most men would have been terrified to see it approach with such ferocity - lesser men, perhaps. But not I!"

Blake flipped through the Grimm Studies textbook. _Manticore,_ she thought with a passive interest, glancing at a sketch of a menacing, lion-like Grimm with a mane of bone. _Native to the borders between Anima and Solitas. Generally follow a leader, such as the fire-breathing Sphinx Grimm._

He raised his massive, bushy eyebrows, grinning at the class as he made an exaggerated gesture with his hands, as if demonstrating how his enemy had approached him. "I, the great and courageous Port, would never surrender to such a nefarious invader! I charged the beast with my bare hands and, letting out a mighty war cry, tore it to shreds where it stood!"

Port threw his head back and let out a fierce yell, leading to rounds of applause from the audience. In the seat next to Blake, Ruby was clapping excitedly, her silver eyes wide with wonder. The girl's sheer, genuine joy couldn't help but put a small smile on her face.

"Anyways," Professor Port said. "Let that be a lesson to you all. Just because a pesky mouse somehow wormed its way into your kitchen and started eating all your cheese, that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do about it." He glanced around at the students. "Now then… who wants to be our next volunteer?"

 _Might as well._ Blake raised her hand. "Ah-hah! I see Miss Beaumont has chosen to step bravely into the ring!" Port bellowed. "Well then, everyone, be sure to give her a generous round of applause!"

Blake held back a scowl as she made her way down to the stage, hearing the sounds of everyone clapping. She was just going to fight off some Grimm, probably not even one of the stronger varieties if they were allowed to bring them into a classroom. Was that really applause-worthy? She'd fought plenty of Grimm everyday while on the move as a White Fang member, yet no one had ever clapped for her then.

 _I guess these so-called Huntsmen-in-training are way softer than I thought._ Nevertheless, she caught a glance of her teammates cheering for her from above, Yang in particular drowning out the others with a big grin on her face. Despite herself, Blake smiled.

"Alright, young lady, I hope you're up for this," Professor Port said cheerfully, eagerly pulling a small remote out of his pocket. "I believe this is your first time volunteering in this class, so I'd be happy to lower the difficulty for you if that's ne-"

"No, it's quite alright," Blake said. "Give me the strongest enemies you have in stock. I can take them easily."

A hush went over the classroom, as several students began whispering to one another. "She's scary, man." "Tch! I bet the girl's just bluffing!" "Did anyone bring popcorn? I bet this is gonna be _good._ " Asinine things like that.

The professor, however, simply beamed as he looked so excited it seemed as though he would finally open his eyes for once. "Well said, well said!" he laughed. "Now then, Miss Beaumont, I hope you're ready for this onslaught, or you'd best prepare to get stung!"

With great flourish, Port stepped back and pressed the button. From several large cages surrounding the stage, their doors suddenly flew open, and a series of sharp noises that were somewhere between buzzing and hissing could be heard, growing louder and angrier by the minute.

Blake narrowed her eyes, and slowly reached for Gambol Shroud as she assessed the situation. _Enemies approaching from all angles._ No matter which way she turned, she would be leaving herself wide open for at least one of the beasts. Finally, she settled for a large yellow cage stacked near the top of its pile.

Turning that way, she would be facing most of them head-on, a few would attack from her sides, which she could cover easily, and only one would be able to reach her from behind.

"Aaaaand they're off!" Professor Port declared, as though he were announcing a particularly exciting game of Dustball. From within each cage, large mutant wasps burst out with high-pitched screeches, with an unmistakable black, red and white palette. The four in front of her bore their stingers and began to attack.

 _Lancer Grimm,_ Blake thought, dodging the sharp needles with precise timing, drawing Gambol Shroud and firing a wave of Dust energy at the one directly in front of her. The Lancer let out of pained hiss as its exoskeleton was shattered, leaving its black, fleshy chest exposed.

Not wasting a second, Blake fired a round of bullets into the Lancer, disintegrating it on impact. She rolled away as the two Lancers approaching her from the sides extended their tails to try and bind her. She heard the sounds of their sharp, thin limbs strike the floor where she'd been a moment ago, with enough force to crack it.

 _This professor must be mad,_ she decided. She supposed she shouldn't be complaining, since just a few minutes ago she'd thought that the people of Beacon might be too soft, but at the moment all she could think of was how to not get skewered as she danced and swung her way out of more projectiles and tail extensions. The Lancers, smaller than the average Grimm, were able to stay out of her melee weapon's range and easily dodge bullets.

One Lancer, which had tried to approach her from behind, suddenly hissed as it tried calling its brethren towards it. Blake cut its cries short by throwing her grappling hook in its maw, skewering it through the head. Before the wasp could recover, she pulled its body toward her and severed it with a clean swing of Gambol Shroud.

Many people in the audience were now cheering her on, impressed by her skills. _This actually feels kind of nice,_ Blake decided, blowing off another Lancer's head with her gun. It was as though the crowd's excitement was somehow making her hits stronger. She was starting to see why humans seemed to find cheering so encouraging.

Two of the remaining Lancers swirled around her, trying to strike her from both ends with their tails. Activating her Semblance, Blake leapt into the air, leaving a shadow clone behind to take the hit for her. Separating Gambol Shroud's components, she span around in a circle and fired several precise shots, taking out both of her targets.

She landed a safe distance away from her clone, an accurate copy made out of combustible fire Dust. Swinging her weapon at it, Blake caused the copy to detonate, obliterating a Lancer that was in the blast zone.

There was only one Lancer remaining, and though it snarled fiercely at her, it couldn't do much. The Lancer Grimm were an infamous menace to the inhabitants of Mistral, but only because of their tendency to travel and attack in groups. By themselves, they were hardly a threat.

Blake's enemy flew at her in a suicidal dash, and without really looking at it, she simply swung Gambol Shroud again, bisecting the Lancer as it got too close. The creature's body split rather pathetically in half, falling on either side of her before fading away.

"Outstanding! Most outstanding!" Port boomed. "I can't remember the last time someone fought off that many Lancers at once without taking a single hit! You must really be something special, Miss Beaumont. Which prep school did you attend, if I may ask?"

"None," Blake replied. "I was… self-taught. And with the help of some friends."

The professor raised his eyebrows. "Is that so? Fascinating! Your sheer skill and talent certainly suggests otherwise, young lady. Though I suppose the wilderness and your own discipline can also be an effective teacher, eh?"

"It's the best kind of teacher," Blake replied coolly. "Where I'm from, if you can't fight to survive, every single day, then you don't deserve to live. Most people here don't seem to understand that. Many of you are too coddled to survive even a day out there in the 'real' world."

The room, which had previously been loud with applause, fell into silence once more. Several people, including Professor Port, looked a bit uneasy. Looking up at her own team, Blake was surprised to see that Ruby, Weiss and even Yang were looking at her with discomfort in their eyes.

 _That's fine by me,_ she told herself. _They're not really my friends, after all. My friends are my brothers and sisters of the White Fang. With their help, I'll overthrow the humans and establish an era of peace for the Faunus. That's my duty. I'm the hero tasked with making this happen._ She repeated those words several times, until it was true.

Still, Blake supposed she'd gone a bit too far. It wouldn't be very beneficial to her mission if everyone was always wary of her, after all. But even so, she scanned the faces of every single person sitting in the class, trying to gauge their expressions. Were they afraid of her? _Good. They'd be a lot more afraid if they knew what I really was._

"Ahem!" Port tried to break the tension by coughing far too loudly. "Now that that excellent display is over, you may return to your seat, Miss Beaumont!" And Blake did just that, seating herself between her teammates without a glance or a word.

"Now then, your homework is to identify at least five different types of S-class Grimm and three different weak spots for each of them!" The professor continued. "I want this handed in the moment you enter my classroom on Friday! Do you all remember your mothers' stories about how missing a deadline at school would get you a visit from the Grimm Faerie? Well, those stories aren't true, but you'll still get an F, so don't be late!"

Blake shuffled out of class with her teammates by her side. She half-expected them to ignore her on the way back, or maybe make some vague, sarcastic comment on what she'd said in class. She'd have been indifferent to either outcome.

Instead, everything carried on like normal. Weiss smiled politely at her and asked if she'd like to compare notes over dinner. Ruby couldn't stop gushing over how cool Blake had looked, slicing and shooting up all those Grimm while making it look so easy. Yang laughed and gave her partner a hearty pat on the back, saying she looked forward to their next sparring session.

 _Did they forget already?_ Blake thought, puzzled.

Eventually, she realized they weren't heading to their dorms. To her annoyance, Weiss also noticed. "Excuse me, Ruby, but isn't this the wrong way?" she asked, clearly trying to sound cordial. "Don't tell me you still forget where our room is."

"No, no, I didn't forget this time!" Ruby protested. "I didn't get the chance to tell you two, but Yang's gonna have a training match in the gym today. I set it up for her."

"Yeah, I was surprised when you did that," Yang laughed, pumping her fists together in anticipation. "Good on you, sis - finally taking some initiative!"

Blake's curiosity was piqued. "A sparring match? Against Yang? Who wanted to go up against her? It must be someone very impressive."

Ruby smiled sheepishly. "Well, about that… it was actually Jaune's idea."

 _Him? Really?_ Blake pictured the skinny blonde boy, who to be brutally frank didn't look like he could fight his way out of a paper bag, much less Grimm, and even less Yang Xiao Long herself.

"Is this some sort of joke?" Weiss exclaimed as the team reached the gym doors. "You mean that Vomit Boy's the one who wanted her to fight someone else, right? There's no way he actually challenged Yang to a fight."

"Hey now, since he's actually did it, it means he's got more balls than I gave him credit for!" Yang said. "Well, unless he backs out at the last moment. I wouldn't blame him - I'd do the same if I were fighting myself." She laughed at what Blake assumed was meant to be a joke.

Excitedly, the blonde brawler went into the gym, humming to herself. Ruby turned to Weiss and Blake with a nervous expression on her face. "Yeah… the truth is," she muttered. "Jaune kinda admitted to me that he's got a crush on Yang. He thinks that if he beats her in a fight, she'll be impressed with him."

Both girls stared at her in disbelief, taking in her words.

"You can't be serious," Weiss said. " _Yang?_ All this time, I thought he was pining for me, making all those gross faces while we all sat together." She paused. "N-Not that I'm jealous! I-if anything, I feel sorry for Yang now!"

Blake pondered this. In a way, she was surprised by Ruby's revelation, but in a way it was to be expected. Very few people could deny that Yang Xiao Long was an incredibly beautiful girl, with a glorious mane of blonde hair, bright purple eyes, a winning smile, an absolutely perfect figure… it was only natural for someone to be attracted to her.

For some reason, she found that her cheeks were turning red. While she'd been thinking, Ruby and Weiss had both gone ahead. Shaking her head angrily, Blake joined them.

In the gymnasium, she saw Yang jump up and down in place, flexing her muscles as she excitedly warmed up for the match. On the other side, Jaune looked decidedly less enthused, as if he were already regretting his choice. His eyes were darting around in all directions, and his brow was beady from sweat. At least he seemed to be focusing on his opponent, though Blake suspected his attention on Yang wasn't for her battle prowess.

"Remember what Goodwitch taught us," Pyrrha was instructing him. "When you're bracing for the enemy's strike, be sure to put your left foot forward." She gently placed a finger on his shoulder. "It's okay to be tense during combat, but it's okay to relax your shoulders. Too much stress will just-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," Jaune insisted, while clearly not being okay. "I got all that." Grimly, he placed his foot backward as he raised his shield defensively.

"Go for it, Jaune!" Nora cheered from the bleachers. "Take her down! Break her arms!"

"Hey, hey, whose side are you on?" Yang yelled at her childhood friend.

Ruby gave a forced smile, looking at the two fighters nervously as she held Weiss's whistle in her hans. "W-Well then, let's start the match!" Taking a deep breath and blew on it as hard as she could. Blake flinched as the high-pitched noise pierced through her Faunus ears, wishing with all her heart she could just place her hands over them.

"Hraahh!" Yang yelled and charged at Jaune with Ember Celica raised. The boy immediately backed away in fear, holding his shield out to protect himself. Her punch made contact with its surface, nearly knocking it clean out of his hands. Blake could feel the impact of the blow even from where she stood.

Poor Jaune already looked like he'd vacated his bowels. His hands were shaking, and with a sharp cry he swung his sword, while Yang wasn't anywhere near him. He cowered behind his shield again when the girl began bombarding him with shotgun shells.

"Jaune, try to go around her!" Pyrrha called out to him. Unfortunately, Jaune seemed to be completely frozen in fear, unable to move forwards as Yang's attacks drove him further back.

"Try tanking one of her hits and then retaliating," Ren suggested, though his voice could barely be heard over the explosions.

Yang gave up trying to shoot him and ran at Jaune with a direct assault, punching his shield and knocking it out of his shaking hands. Yelling, Jaune ran away in fear, leaping and jumping pathetically to avoid her shots. Watching the whole display, Blake was starting to feel sorry for him.

Finally, Yang ran out of ammunition, and paused to reload. In that moment, Jaune seemed to find his courage, lunging at her with a sharp cry. He struck her across the side with his sword, but the girl seemed unfazed as her Aura simply absorbed the hit.

Grinning audaciously, Yang activated her Semblance, nearly blowing Jaune away with an explosion of energy. Before the boy could react, she let out a fierce shout and aimed a full-powered punch at his face.

What happened next, took a few seconds for Blake to process.

There was a sharp cracking of bone, then a spurt of blood as Jaune was thrown backwards, landing on the floor with a sickening crash. Several people screamed at the sight, running towards the boy to make sure he was alright.

He definitely wasn't alright - he'd been knocked out cold, a small puddle of blood was seeping out from his jaw, and several of his teeth had been knocked clean out. Thankfully, Blake could see that he was still breathing, but his face was in very bad shape. Instinctively, she ran over to him.

"We need to contact the infirmary, now!" she shouted. _What is this? Why am I so eager to help save a human?_

Several students who had gathered to see the match complied, running out of the gym in a hurry. Others stayed behind to film the whole scene. The rest of Teams RWBY and JNPR, meanwhile, gathered around Jaune to assess his injuries.

"Jaune? Jaune, are you alright?" Pyrrha said, clearly in distress. "I'm sorry! I should have given you better advice…"

"He'll be okay," Ren assured her. "And you know it wasn't your fault."

Nora laughed anxiously. "I-I-I wasn't being serious when I told you guys to break some things…" she muttered.

Weiss, who looked utterly shaken despite making her opinion of Jaune quite clear before, turned to scowl at Yang. The brawler stood some distance away, in stunned silence. There were drops of blood on her right gauntlet, but she hadn't seemed to notice.

"What the hell were you thinking?" the heiress snapped at her. "Did you punch right through his Aura or something?"

"I-I didn't do anything like that!" Yang protested. "I didn't even land a single hit on him before that! He should have had way more Aura!"

"Maybe… he forgot to activate his Aura?" Ruby said nervously, glancing at her wounded friend.

Weiss looked disbelieving. "Forgot? How does a Huntsman just 'forget' to activate his Aura? That's one of the basic lessons of being one! It's the first thing they teach you in prep school! To make it into one of the Big Four academies, you pretty much need to be able to activate it on instinct!"

Not for the first time, Blake felt a twinge of annoyance as she found herself agreeing with Weiss Schnee. Something wasn't right about all this.

As the paramedics arrived to carry Jaune to the infirmary, Blake cast a curious glance at the boy as he was taken away. It was just a hunch, but she was starting to think she might not be the only one who'd come to Beacon with secrets in their heart.


End file.
